Reaching for the Stars
by LuciferIX
Summary: After figuring out Dawn's secret May agrees to help her get together with Ash. But will she be able to overcome past feelings that she once thought were put to rest? Advanceshipping, AshxMay, AAMayL, SatoHaru
1. The Cloaked Challenger

Osashiburidana, e minna-san?

It really has been quite a while since you all have seen me on this side of the review window. I wasn't planning to release this chapter for another few days but something about posting this one exactly ten months after my last chapter and ironically enough 21 months after my very first story has a sort of nostalgia to it. I've gotten a few messages from different members in the past months asking if I was going to write again so here it is; chapter one of my eighth story. But of course there is one last thing that I have to do before it starts.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Pokémon or any of the related material. All names, places, and characters are trademarked property of Satoshi Tajiri and Pokémon Co. All rights reserved.

Enjoy.

* * *

The warm Kanto sun shown down past the clear cloudless sky creating the ideal day for almost anything one could think of. It would have been a Pokémon trainer's paradise as all the wild Pokémon of the area rested out in the open just enjoying the warm rays. Yet even with the abundance of Pokémon there were only two humans walking down the road. One of them, a boy whose Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder listening into his trainer's conversation, was looking suspiciously at his other traveling companion. The girl who was following him was almost skipping as they went down the road.

"Dawn is there a reason that you're still following me?" The boy finally asked as his hometown just started to come into view. "I know that you wanted to try the Kanto contests but you do know that I'm just going to be resting at home for a month or two before heading out to Johto. So by following me you won't be really making much headway on your goal."

"I know, but to be honest I haven't completely decided on where I'll be going. So for all I know I might just be going to Johto as well," she replied with a smile.

"Great," the boy muttered under his breath. Looking over at his passenger the trainer just sighed as the Pikachu looked just as disappointed as he was.

"Oh come on Ash, am I really that bad to travel with?"

"To be honest, yes; at times you are," Ash said matter-of-factly.

"Do you really have to be that blunt about it?" Dawn asked feeling a little hurt at his quick response. "Besides you couldn't have had that many bad experiences while in Sinnoh, right?"

Sighing again the young trainer knew what was probably going to be coming if he kept the conversation going as it was. Over the last few months that they were traveling together Dawn seemed to have taken on a different personality around him. While she was still the same energetic blunette that he met nearly a year ago Dawn had started to be a bit more tentative around him and went out of her way to try and get his attention. Although he had a few ideas as to why Ash never took enough of a notice to really think into it. Besides with the Sinnoh League Championship just around the corner he had other things to occupy his mind. After confiding this with Pikachu he found out that it wasn't the only one getting problems with the other sex. Buneary was apparently trying to get closer to the electric mouse at about the same time that Dawn seemed to change.

"No they weren't all that bad Dawn. It was just that there were times where some of your habits, like say your excessive attention to your hair, did get a little annoying as it made us late in several instances. We even almost missed the last ferry to the Pokémon League! Now how can you tell me something like that wouldn't annoy me?"

"I already apologized for that several times, how much longer are you going to be holding me to that? In the end we got there in time so nothing bad happened. Besides you boys can't understand what a girl's hair means to her."

Continuing their walk so that he wouldn't have to deal with the conversation as long Ash took only a second before coming up with an answer that might satisfy her. "Lemme take a guess then." Clearing his throat he turned around while walking backwards so that he could face the blunette. Holding a finger in the air and trying his best to imitate a girl's voice the boy repeated a saying that he had heard once before. "A girl's hair is her life, so don't even think about messing with it! Am I right?" He finished with a smirk.

Giving him a weird look Dawn couldn't help but just stare at him. "And where did you hear that one?"

"I think that I heard it from May once," he replied while laughing a bit and turning back around before continuing their walk. "Though when I think about it, I believe that she just said it as a joke while Max and I teased her one day."

"Well I guess that you are more or less correct; especially when we have a reason for it," she added quietly.

"Did you say something?"

"Nope."

"Okay, cause we just made it to Professor Oak's lab."

"Professor Oak? I thought that you were heading to your house."

"I was thinking of stopping off there to meet with some of my old Pokémon as well as drop off my new ones while I stay in Pallet. They would all probably like the open space to walk around instead of just staying in their Pokéballs."

"Do you think the Professor would mind letting me keep my Pokémon at his lab while I stay here?'

"I don't see why not. You can run ahead if you want Pikachu, we won't be far behind. Besides you probably want to stretch your legs a bit after that long trip," Ash said as he turned to look at his starter.

Smiling the yellow mouse happily jumped off of his trainer's shoulder and ran out into the fields to join the other masses of Pokémon roaming about.

"So shall we get started releasing them?" He asked as Pikachu disappeared into a forest and away from view.

"Are you the Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum?"

Looking up the two friends could see a person walking towards them dressed in a long brown cloak that covered all except for a small portion of their lower face. From the figure one could guess that she was a girl but she was trying to deepen her voice as she talked giving it a slightly unusual tone. Even still Ash had a weird sense of déjà vu as he looked at the person.

"I am," he responded carefully. "And who might you be?"

Stepping in front of Dawn the trainer felt a bit odd without his ever present partner there for support. While the figure didn't seem to be too threatening there was still something about her that didn't seem right and he didn't want to take any chances.

"My name isn't important right now; just think of me as a fellow trainer wanting to test the Sinnoh Champ's skills. Care for a little match?" Looking directly at Ash she waited expectantly for the trainer's response.

* * *

Trees flew by as the other member of the team ran through the woods trying to find his favorite spot. It was a nice clearing overlooking a large pond. At this time of day the sun always was able to peek through the leaves of the canopy and the many rays of light seemed to dance off the crystal clear water, perfect for lazing the day away.

Pikachu was happy to be home after all of the time away; seeing all of Ash's old Pokémon and being able to do nothing but lay in the sun and lounge around made it the perfect vacation. Well almost perfect that is, he thought, there was one old friend that would truly make everything perfect.

Caught up in his own little world Pikachu didn't notice a blur of brown off his left side until it was too late. The attacker knocked him off of his feet as he somersaulted across the grass. The yellow mouse was usually rather alert, he had to be with the nearly daily Team Rocket attacks, but for some reason he wasn't able to catch sight, sound, or even smell of anyone until that point.

In an instant he was back on his feet and in a defensive position, sparks already flaring from his two electric check pouches. Slightly berating himself over not sensing the attack, the Electric-type scanned the ground to try and find who attacked him in an effort of not being caught off guard again. But there was one thing that bothered him; if his attacker was able to catch him off guard like that and get a good solid hit, why did it not hurt? It was almost as if they held back for some reason. Were they just toying with him or was it something else?

Suddenly the Mouse Pokémon caught a few signals coming from his sensitive ears and nose, but by the time he was able to identify the sounds and smells of the freshly turned earth it was too late. Popping up right underneath his body the force knocked him off balance and he tumbled to the ground. Looking up at his small four-legged assailant he could only stare wide eyed at what was before him.

* * *

"Well how about it? Or has your victory in Sinnoh gone to your head?"

"No, you're on. I'm not sure who you are or why else you've come here, but no matter what the reasons are I never turn down a battle."

"Good, like I had hoped you haven't changed a single bit. Seeing as how I'm the one who issued the challenge how does a simple one-on-one battle sound?"

"Fine by me."

Giving off a confident smile Ash tried to see if he couldn't try to at least take the upper hand in the mental battle. He could already tell that this wasn't just some random battle proposal and his opponent had probably taken time beforehand to prepare. "So who's going to be your choice?"

"One of my most powerful." Sporting a smirk just as confident as Ash's, the cloaked figure produced a Pokéball from her sleeve before tossing it out onto the battlefield. "Venusaur, let's go!"

With a flash of red light the fully evolved Kanto starter appeared. Stretching its legs and shaking the giant flower on its back several water droplets danced off the leaves and created several small rainbows as they passed through the sun's rays. Looking up the giant Pokémon waited expectantly for her opponent.

"Don't worry Ash this should be an easy battle for you," Dawn whispered into his ear. "You should be able to take her down without too much effort."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you see the way that her Pokémon came out of its ball? I'd put money on the fact that she's a coordinator."

"Are you trying to say that coordinators can't battle? You of all people should know that just because a person is a coordinator doesn't say anything about their strength."

Raising her hands defensively Dawn tried to remedy the situation. "No no no, that's not what I meant; or at least not exactly." Sighing a bit she continued. "I'm just saying that with a coordinator's focus on beauty as well as power compared to a trainer's concentration on almost pure power should give you an advantage. It was meant as nothing more than encouragement. I just screwed up I guess. Besides she's probably just some nobody Pokémon trainer that wants to take on the Sinnoh Champ to prove their worth."

"I don't care if she is a coordinator or a trainer, like always I'll battle them with my best." Still smiling Ash looked back at his opponent while grabbing a Pokéball from his belt. "But I get what you're saying, thanks Dawn. I guess I'll just show her how the new champion battles then. Torterra, I choose you!"

With another flash of light the Sinnoh starter hit the ground with a giant reverberating thud. Dwarfing even the giant Venusaur the Continent Pokémon was proud of its bulk and lived up to its title. Weighing over four times as much as his opponent and sporting an almost full additional meter in height it was clear who had the physical advantage. Letting out a bellowing roar the Pokémon was more than willing to battle. Yet even while facing down such a massive opponent neither the Venusaur nor her trainer even flinched at the sight of Ash's choice.

"So are you finally ready?" The challenger asked. "To be fair I'll let you have the first move."

"Overconfident are we? I'll just have to show you how we win. Torterra let's start this off big, Leaf Storm!"

Bending down slightly to bring the large bonsai tree on his back to bare, Torterra aimed his attack as the leaves began to glow with a light green hue. Not even a second later what appeared to be a light breeze that began blowing through the leaves turned into a torrent as the glowing foliage started to detach from the Pokémon and fly towards their target in a cyclone shaped funnel.

"Venusaur, Solarbeam."

Taking only passing notice that the stranger stopped trying disguising her voice, Ash tried to keep his full focus on the battle, even if the voice did sound somewhat familiar. Shaking the thoughts out of his head a large smile made its way back to his face as he figured out his opponent's mistake. "Solarbeam takes time to power up, keep pressing the attack through the entire charge!"

Just before what appeared to be countless small beads of light began to filter down into Venusaur's flower the attack of Torterra's hit its mark, surrounding the Seed Pokémon in a whirlwind of tiny razor sharp leaves.

"Keep it up Venusaur, only a little more."

Ash could only wonder at what was going on. His opponent's Pokémon was taking every leaf on directly and yet was only flinching every few seconds, all the while the droplets of light began to flow like a constant stream, collecting around the seed in the center of its flower petals. Even with the attack, neither she nor her trainer even looked worried. _"How can she take one of our most powerful attacks and yet still keep the concentration necessary to prepare a Solarbeam?"_

It was at that point it hit him. With Venusaur being a Grass/Poison-type even a Leaf Storm wouldn't be anything more than an annoying paper cut. Of course by the time he finally realized this it was already too late.

"You're too predictable right now Ash, Venusaur fire!"

Through the fury of the leaves the glow coming from the seed in the Pokémon's flower began to intensify as the power began to take shape. Mere seconds later the energy was released in one powerful shot, effortlessly blowing away the Continent Pokémon's attack. Before Ash could even react, Venusaur's attack found its target as Torterra recoiled from the direct hit to its shell.

Thinking quickly Ash gave his next command in an effort to buy some time to come up with a new plan of attack. "Torterra quickly turn that momentum into an Earthquake!"

Thanks to its massive bulk the Sinnoh starter swiftly recovered from the strike and with a loud roar reared up slightly on its back legs right before crashing down onto the earth sending a powerful shockwave racing from it.

"Venusaur counter with your own Earthquake!"

"_That thing knows Earthquake as well?"_

Mimicking its opponent Venusaur reared up on its own rear legs before smashing down, sending out its own tremor along the ground.

Several fissures were forming around both Pokémon as the powerful Earth-type attacks spread out from their epicenters. Meeting in the middle several large rocks began jutting out of the ground as the attacks collided, creating a wall of jagged stone between the two combatants and blocking each from the other's view.

"_Okay not exactly what I was planning but at least I got the results I was looking for,"_ Ash thought as he started a mental overview of the battle. _"Whoever this person is she's definitely good, far better than I was expecting; so much for facing a 'nobody Pokémon trainer'. Of course it's not really helping that I'm forgetting the basics on top of everything, looks like it was me who was the overconfident one."_

Taking a deep breath, the trainer slowly released it allowing himself to calm down in the process.

"_Let's see here, her Venusaur seems to be specialized in special attacks and their defense; heh who would have thought that I would have just given my opponent that big of an advantage right off the bat. But it's too late for that one now Ash, we just need to worry about the here and now. Our advantage is in the physical end of attacks and defense. That just means that I'll have to end this fast, Torterra can't take another attack like that and still have a good chance at winning. Looks like we'll finally have to put that training of ours to work."_

"Torterra we have to go full strength from this point on." Seeing his Pokémon nod in agreement Ash looked back at the wall of rocks, wondering what the cloaked figure was planning. "Alright then, Torterra Hyper Beam!"

"Tor!" Opening its mouth wide the giant Pokémon got itself ready for the attack his trainer ordered. He knew just as well that that Venusaur wasn't a pushover and was happy to be actually fighting someone worthwhile.

"Fire!"

Accompanied by a small aerial shockwave the orange beam flew out of Torterra's mouth, effortlessly blasting the wall to pieces and continuing on to the other side.

"About time, I was wondering when you'd finally get back to your normal self! Venusaur, Light Screen!" Ash's opponent called out once the wall was cut down.

Without a moment's hesitation a transparent barrier formed between the two combatants right before the Hyper Beam hit. It didn't take long for the barrier to start to crack and deform from the force of the attack but by the time it shattered none of the beam was left.

"Now Torterra, Wood Hammer!"

Before his trainer even ordered the next attack the lumbering giant was already on the move. Starting off slow but steadily increasing in speed, the Continent Pokémon turned himself into a living freight train as each step brought with it a resounding thud. By the time he passed the midpoint on the field it already felt like another Earthquake attack as the turtle charged ahead with surprising speed.

Ash mentally cheered as he could picture the surprise on his opponent's face. Ever since Torterra learned Hyper Beam they trained to try and reduce the recharge time afterwards. The result was Torterra growing even larger than the average for his species as to hold the additional power needed. The one downside to this was that with the excess bulk came even further reduced speed. By this point the only real time that Torterra moved significantly in battle would be to utilize its most potent attack, Wood Hammer. Combined with a running charge the weight and power of Torterra made it their ace in the hole.

"Right!"

Surprised at her response Ash could only stare as the Venusaur nimbly dodged out of the way as Torterra brought its massive front leg down, creating a mini earthquake in the process as it slammed into the ground

"Now Grass Knot while it's off balance!"

Quickly turning back to face its opponent the Kanto starter's eyes glowed green as several blades of grass started to grow around one of the legs of the massive Pokémon. Before it could react Torterra's leg was pulled out from underneath it and the giant turtle went down with a loud thud, dazing it as its head hit the ground hard.

"Now Torterra, another Leaf Storm and then Synthesis!"

"Right and Sludge Bomb!"

Caught by surprise at the speed of his opponent Ash knew he was in trouble, it would take a couple seconds for Torterra to get up and that would mean his Pokémon would be nothing more than a sitting target until then. With the tree being the only thing pointed in Venusaur's direction he was rather limited in attacks until the Continent Pokémon's head was back into the battle.

Firing off another cyclone of leaves the Seed Pokémon once again dodged to the right before firing off its own attack. Although unlike before the storm of leaves was large enough to catch Venusaur's left side, as it did several cuts were made into the pebbly green skin and the great beast winced in pain. But the opponent's reasoning for this maneuver was accomplished as a large purple blob of gunk shot out of Venusaur's mouth, covering not only his shell but the tree on Torterra's back as well causing the Leaf Storm to abruptly come to a halt.

Finally able to turn abound to face his opponent the massive Pokémon looked up only in time for another Sludge Bomb to hit him the face. Roaring in pain the Pokémon desperately tried to rub its head on the ground to clear the poison out of his eyes. With all of his efforts in vain he could feel his strength start to give way as the toxin began to course through his body, only hastened by his futile attempts to clear it. Collapsing down on the ground he succumbed to the two super-effective attacks and blacked out.

"Torterra!"

Running towards his downed Pokémon with Dawn close behind, Ash knelt down to inspect his friend. Breathing a sigh of relief once he was sure that everything was more or less fine he too collapsed down onto the ground, sitting next to his second Sinnoh capture.

"Eww," Dawn gagged as she looked at the thick purple sludge oozing off of the giant's back. "I thought that she was supposed to be a coordinator. Why would anyone want to use an attack as disgusting as that?" Looking back at Ash her face instantly softened as she looked at the now defeated trainer. "Ash, you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry he'll be just fine."

Looking up the two friends saw the cloaked figure walking up towards them with her Venusaur close behind, a slight limp evident in its left front leg.

"And who asked you?" Dawn spat out at the stranger. "It's your fault that he's like this in the first place!"

"You traveled with him for a little over a year, am I right Dawn?"

Anger quickly turned to shock at the fact that this stranger knew her name. "How do you know my name, who the heck are you?" She shouted defensively, backing up closer to Ash.

Giving off a small smile and a chuckle the figure just looked at the distressed blunette. "The fact that you were on TV for the Sinnoh Super Contests and many people probably know it by now is kinda beside the point." The smile didn't last long as her voice once again returned to a firm tone. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Well, yeah. Of course," she replied a tad questionably.

"Then you should also know that after Ash Ketchum loses he won't stop until he can overcome that weakness and come out stronger in the end." Looking over at the trainer he appeared to be in shock as he just sat there unresponsive, either that or just completely lost in thought. A cheerful grin came over her face as she began to talk to him, "Gary was right. You really are easy to beat after a big win."

* * *

Well let's just hope that I haven't gotten too rusty in the almost whole year since my last story. But as I was proven wrong last time by my readers I'll just leave that decision up to you guys. Otherwise we'll just leave it at a couple of cliffhangers for now, one easy and another a bit harder.

As always I hope you enjoyed this and will welcome any type of review. I'll be trying to follow my usual update schedule of every other day so look forward to the next chapter.


	2. Old Friends, New Rivals

Glad to see a mix of both old and new reviewers for the last chapter. Thanks to all of you that took your time to do so.

As one of my reviewers pointed out last chapter, I know that technically May's Eevee evolved into a Glaceon almost a year ago but for several reasons I like to keep her in her pre-evolved state. I have several reasons as to why but I won't go into those right now. Usually I would have put this at the beginning of the first chapter but considering that it would have made one of the cliffhangers even more obvious I decided to wait til' this one.

Well that's about it, here's the second chapter.

* * *

"Do you really have to rub it in that much May?" The trainer calmly asked as he reached for one of his Pokéballs, not taking his eyes off of the fallen giant.

"May?" Dawn looked back at the cloaked figure as she pulled back the hood, revealing her face. The girl's long brown hair fell off to the sides as her sapphire blue eyes looked down at her two friends.

"So you did figure it out. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to recognize one of your old friends after winning your first tournament cup. When did you finally realize that it was me?"

"Not until just now," he responded. "Funny how clear a person's mind can get after a loss, but actually it was your voice that I recognized. I would greet you a little more personally but I have something bigger to take care of." Tossing the Pokéball in his hand to the ground a quick flash of light appeared leaving a small orange Pokémon in its place.

"Buizel could you use your Water Gun to gently wash off Torterra?" Ash asked his water Pokémon.

"Bui bui," the Water-type nodded as it began to wash off its companion.

"Here let me help," May offered, holding out one of her Pokéballs. "I'm the one responsible for it anyways. Blastoise help out Buizel in hosing down Torterra."

From her Pokéball a large blue turtle appeared, balancing itself on its hind legs and wielding two powerful water cannons that pointed out the top of its shell. Yet even with its intimidating presence the Kanto starter walked over and with great accuracy helped wash away the purple ooze that collected on the back of the Continent Pokémon.

"Guess it would be good to take care of you as well," she said turning to the Venusaur. Pulling out a spray bottle and spraying some of the contents into the open wound on its leg the Seed Pokémon gave out a content hum as the cuts began to instantly close up and scab over. "Just wish that they had something like this for humans as well," May joked as she checked her Grass-type for any other injuries.

Looking over, Ash could only smile as he saw how well his old friend still cared for her Pokémon. As he shifted his gaze something caught his eye as he instantly felt even stupider for not recognizing her. "I really must not have been with it not to notice that and not known it was you."

"Notice what?" May asked, looking back at him.

"The hearts on your Venusaur's head, she's had them since she was a Bulbasaur right?"

Smiling and patting her Grass-type on the head, right where the marks that Ash was talking about were, May nodded. "I'm surprised that it took you that long to figure everything out while we were battling. I know that you are dense but that was reaching new levels," she added with a giggle.

"Hey, is that any way to treat someone who just got beaten?" He asked while faking a tear. It didn't take long for both of them to burst out laughing.

"So May," Dawn interrupted, for some reason still a little hesitant around her, "what's with the cloak, and further more why all the secrecy?"

"When I heard that Ash has just won the Sinnoh league and decided to meet him here. The cloak," she motioned while holding up her arms, "I found at a shop on the Silver Plateau. After competing in the Johto contests and taking second place in the finals I thought that it would be a good way to stay away from the reporters and fans."

"Wait," Ash interrupted her. "You got second place?"

"Yep! I lost to Solidad in the end but I'm getting closer and hopefully I'll be able to finally be able to take first place like you did."

"Well it wasn't that big of a deal," Ash said as he scratched the back of his head a bit. "But congratulations nonetheless."

"Thanks Ash, congratulations to you too." Smiling at her friend's modesty May returned to her story. "When I arrived here in Pallet Town yesterday, Mrs. Ketchum directed me over to the Oak Lab for the time being and I met Ash's friend, Gary Oak. He was the one who gave me the idea to do this. With Ash not knowing it was me I tried to make sure that he would give it his all, knowing that he was going up against an old friend might have unconsciously kept him from doing so. But of course there was one variable that we needed to take out for it to even have a chance of that working."

"And what was that?" Ash asked.

"Not really a what, but a who. There is a certain someone who is always with you and would have been able to pick me out with no problem, even without seeing my face.'

"A certain…Pikachu?"

"And we have a winner!" May shouted enthusiastically. "Yep, that little yellow partner of yours would have been able to see through my disguise without a sweat, so we needed someone to distract him. Speaking of which I guess now is as good as any for them to join us. Pikachu, Eevee, you can come out now!"

As the echo of May's voice spread across the ranch the sounds of crunching leaves could be heard coming from the forest as two small blurs moved out across the fields, although surprisingly the one in front seemed to be running as if its life depended on it. Looking up and immediately recognizing the cloaked figure he quickly bolted up and onto the top of her head trembling slightly as he kept his eyes fixated on his pursuer. Stopping at her trainer's feet the brown fox-like Pokémon running after him innocently looked up at the mouse with a soft "vee" escaping her mouth.

"So did you two have fun?" May asked while stifling a giggle.

"Pika pika," the Electric-type replied while violently shaking his head side to side.

"Sorry Pikachu I told Eevee to find and keep you busy while Ash and I battled. I hope she didn't do anything that upset you."

While listening to May talk, Pikachu failed to notice Eevee crawl her way up onto May's shoulder. By the time he did notice she was already leaning up against May's head, staring at him with a big smile just inches from his face, giving off another "vee" while slightly cocking her head to the side.

Reflexively jumping backwards Pikachu found out the hard way how little space is on top of May's head as he fell down to the ground.

"Cha…" He let out as he lay on his back, stunned from the sudden fall.

"Pikachu!" All three humans called and rushed over as he just lay there with his eyes closed.

"Eevee?" The Evolution Pokémon looked down at the mouse before jumping off May's shoulder and walking up to him.

Suddenly the sound of a Pokéball opening shot out shortly followed by a beam of light that extended out of Dawn's bag to the ground. Before the released creature was even completely revealed it was already rushing over to the downed Electric-type. The only problem, in her haste the Pokémon accidentally tripped and landed directly on top of Pikachu, knocking the wind out of him and putting him right back into a dazed state.

"Buneary?!" The Pokémon hurriedly looked down at Pikachu as she hopped off before trying to help him up onto his feet.

"And who might this little one be?" May asked kneeling down to take a better look at the new arrival. With one of its long ears rolled down to its head the brown Rabbit Pokémon was the perfect look for a coordinator, right down to the fluffy pure white fur around her waist and tips of the ears.

"She is my Buneary," Dawn stated proudly; glancing over to see May's reaction, if any. "I've had her for quite some time and she is one of my favorites to use in the appeal round. She is the perfect combination of beauty and power."

Much to the coordinator's chagrin May didn't even bat an eye at her bragging, even leaning down to take a closer look. "You're right, she is a cutie."

"Vee Eevee vee eve," the Evolution Pokémon demanded as she looked over at the new arrival. Unlike her trainer Eevee was already wary of the sudden arrival of the other Normal-type.

Looking up, Buneary just then noticed the other Pokémon hovering over Pikachu, eyeing her over a couple times Buneary just gave a small smirk before looking down at the newcomer. "Buneary bun Buneary."

Now that was nothing but a slap in the face for Eevee as she recoiled slightly from the comment. Baring her teeth at the newcomer she was about to verbally lash out again, but before the little Pokémon could her trainer picked up both her and Pikachu into her arms as she stood up. Of course with this action Eevee was suddenly pressed close to the still dazed Pikachu. With a big smile spreading across her face, Eevee just looked down at the now mouth agape Rabbit Pokémon. The little fox just stuck her tongue out at envious looking Buneary, taking a quick check rub with the still dazed Electric-type before snuggling into her trainer's arms along with their extra passenger.

"Looks like you two aren't going to become friends right away," May noticed as she collected hers and Ash's Pokémon. "Eevee you can just stay on my shoulder for now, Pikachu would probably want his space until he recovers from that fall." Looking back down at Dawn's Pokémon May couldn't help but think out loud. "Although I wonder why it intensified that fast, it didn't look like it would be much longer until Eevee would start attacking."

With a slightly disappointed look Eevee obeyed her trainer and reluctantly climbed her way up to her usual perch, but not before getting one last cheek rub in. As the Evolution Pokémon made her way up, Buneary was clearly relaxing at the sight.

"Yeah, I wonder," Dawn replied rather flatly as she grabbed her own Pokémon.

Not noticing Dawn's tone the other coordinator glanced over at Torterra and the two Water-types just finishing up with washing off all of the viscous purple ooze that once covered his entire back and face.

"You okay Torterra?" Ash asked as he walked over to the laying giant.

"Terra," the Pokémon answered weakly.

"Well just give it time. I'll take you to Professor Oak and you'll be as good as new by tomorrow. You did a great job in the battle today Torterra, and thanks for helping with cleaning him off Buizel, you both deserve the rest." Holding their Pokéballs in his hands the two were pulled back into the storage devices.

"You too Blastoise, thanks for the help," May told her Pokémon while repeating Ash's actions. "You going to be okay out here for a now Venusaur?" She called out to the other battler who was sunbathing as several smaller Grass-types were starting to join her. After not moving a muscle May assumed she had her answer. "So I'm feeling a bit hungry, how about we head over to your house Ash? Your mom said that she would have dinner ready for us by the time we got back."

"Sure I just need to drop of my Pokémon with the Professor then we can head down there. You okay with carrying Pikachu or should I take him?"

"He's fine," she responded while giving the mouse a few short rubs on the head, receiving a soft coo in return. "It's been a while since I've last seen him anyways."

"If you say so," Ash said as he turned and started to head out to the main lab. Quickly falling into step behind him was Dawn with Buneary in her arms, giving side glances towards May as she caught up to the group.

Ash could feel an uneasy tension that was building between the two girls, even if he had no clue as to why, but apparently May was too preoccupied with talking to Pikachu to even take notice. "So May," he started, trying to break the silence. "That was some amazing battling that you did today. I didn't expect you to improve that much in only a little over a year's time."

"Yeah, and what was with some of those attacks?" Dawn added in, still a bit apprehensive at how to take her sudden appearance in Pallet. "Those weren't how a coordinator should battle. You could have had a major amount of points deducted even without considering your opponent's actions."

"I just went with what my instincts were telling me," she told them simply, looking up from the Pokémon in her arms. "I knew that if that was a real contest battle I might have had a number of points deducted but at times the best strategy is one that features short term loss for a long term gain. If both my opponent and I lose points from an attack then as long as they lost more than I did, it was worth it. Besides I've always been told that I don't battle like the usual coordinator, must have taken a bit more from my teacher than I was originally thinking," she finished while winking at Ash.

"Well thanks May, I didn't think that I really did all that much," Ash replied while scratching the back of his head again. "Although it's apparent that you would make just as good a trainer as a coordinator, even without any more help from me."

Noticing a slight blush make its way across the trainer's face Dawn hastily decided that she needed to change the subject. "So May why are you here? I thought that you lived in Hoenn, shouldn't you be headed back there?"

"I just figured that I should stop in to see an old friend after so long. After talking to Gary I also thought it would be fun to have a little battle with him. The last time we battled was at the Terracotta Contest, so I wanted to see how much further I've gotten. I'll probably be heading back home in a couple days or so."

"And after that?" Dawn continued.

"Not really sure as of yet," May replied with a shrug. "I have a couple ideas but nothing set in stone. Besides Max will be getting his first Pokémon in a month or two so part of my decision might depend of that."

"I see…" Dawn was obviously thinking about what May just said. The other coordinator stared at her curiously but was soon interrupted by someone's voice.

"So May how'd the battle go?"

Looking up the trio could see that they had reached the Oak lab and a somewhat tall brown haired boy in a white lab coat was waiting for them, hands crossed over his chest.

With a large smile May held out her hand with her fingers forming a "V".

"A complete and total victory."

"Do you really have to be that blunt about it May?" Ash mumbled, though loud enough for everyone to hear. "And as for you, did you really have to convince May to battle like that Gary?"

Showing a half-smile Gary looked at his old rival, old memories running though his head. "Well somebody always needs to knock you down to size so your ego doesn't grow too large. It just so happens that I found another person to do that for me this time. I've been paying more attention to my lab work than training my Pokémon the last few months so I wasn't sure I'd be able to beat you as easily as I usually could. So when May got here yesterday I found the perfect opportunity to be able to do just that. The cloak was more her idea, though I have to say it was a bit nostalgic of my own journey through Johto. Either way it looks like everything played out just as I was hoping."

"So the great Gary Oak thinks that he can't beat me anymore?" Ash perked up with a confident smirk.

"Now who ever said that? I just mentioned that I wouldn't be able to beat you _as easily_ as I normally can," Gary replied without missing a beat, once again dropping Ash's mood down a level. "But congratulations nonetheless for getting your first Championship Trophy, so is there anything I can do for ya while you're here?"

Mumbling to himself Ash grudgingly handed over Torterra's Pokéball. "I need you to take care of Torterra for a while. He's in rough shape after that battle."

"Sure thing, Ashy-boy. Anything else? Cause as fun as it is to watch you mope around after a loss I should be getting back to work. Gramps has me on several different projects to keep me busy."

"Now that you mention it…" Ash began while thoughts of revenge began to appear in his head. Grabbing the rest of his Pokéballs he enlarged them and dropped them all into Gary's arms with a big smile across his face. "You can take the rest of my Pokémon as well. I won't be needing them for another month or so anyways."

Catching Ash's drift Dawn grabbed all of her Pokéballs, except for Buneary's who was still out of hers, and repeated Ash's actions. "It would be a real help if you could take care of mine as well. I'm going to be staying here for a while so I would assume that it wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Suddenly surprised by the mass of Pokéballs given to him the young Professor fell backwards, understanding the real reason for this while giving off a big sigh. "Yeah yeah, I get the picture. I'll give them to Gramps and we'll take care of them." Looking up at the only other person there that didn't shove a bunch of items into his arms he let out a small chuckle. "I guess it was a good thing that you gave me most of yours yesterday."

"I really am sorry about this Gary," May told him apologetically as she handed Blastoise's Pokéball over to him. "But just to let you know, Venusaur seems to be enjoying her time after the battle and is resting out near the forest. She should be fine like that for a little while, besides there are probably a few old friends that she will want to see by the end of the day. Other than that I think I'll just keep Eevee with me."

"That shouldn't be a problem, now if you guys don't mind I have work to do," he said as he got up and started to minimize the Pokéballs.

"Don't worry, food is next on our list and considering Ash's stomach there won't be much that could distract him from anything else." As she finished up a soft grumbling sound filled the area.

"So it would only distract me?" Ash asked while May's face suddenly turned light pink as a slight blush became present. "It looks as if I'm not the only one who's hungry," he continued while poking her stomach a couple times.

Turning from a light pink to a dark red, May was getting very annoyed as the trainer already was trying to obtain a head start from the now furious coordinator. "Ash Ketchum! When I get my hands on you wishing you'd never been born wouldn't even be enough to save you!" She yelled as she sprinted after him, Eevee hanging onto her shoulder for dear life.

Looking rather irritated at the friendly display between the two, Dawn just gazed down at the Pokémon in her arms. Looking back at the young professor he was just shaking his head, but soon gave a polite bow to the Sinnoh coordinator and headed back inside. Giving of a long sigh Dawn started following her two friends. "Looks like it'll be a lot harder then we first anticipated, for both of us."

"Bun," her Pokémon nodded with a stern look on her face, recalling images of not too long ago.

"Don't worry, we still have good chance. Neither of them seem to have set anything in stone at this point. Yet even still I have no clue at what May's true thoughts are about him. Is she playing dumb or does she not actually have any feelings for Ash? And yet when you consider the facts of how close they are and that Ash almost always seems to mention her in one way or another during his stories it's almost hard to believe that they don't feel anything for each other." Looking up to the sky Dawn could feel a small headache coming on as the different possibilities raced through her head. "Either way it probably would be best to try and not agitate Eevee anymore. Unlike her trainer it looks as if she knows exactly what she wants and is willing to fight for it. While I don't think that she would be much of a challenge for you I don't want to have to test that if I don't have to after seeing May's Venusaur and Blastoise. However you probably would still want to try anyways, am I right?"

"Bun," she responded with another nod.

"Can't say that I blame you, I guess we'll just have to see." Looking up and seeing the two of them arriving at a small house Dawn started to pick up her pace. "Round two starts now."

* * *

And there ya go. As always reviews are welcome, otherwise chapter three will be up soon.


	3. Secrets Revealed

Well once again thank you to all who took the time to review. And as all of you were expecting, here's chapter three.

* * *

"Please May anything but that!"

Arriving at the front door Dawn could hear Ash pleading from the other side. Not even bothering to knock she burst into the house, throwing off her shoes at the door, and racing down the small hall into what appeared to be the living room.

"A…" She got out before witnessing something that made her not only speechless but slightly jealous as well.

Lying on his stomach Ash was laughing his head off, begging May to be let free. May on the other hand seemed rather content with the situation, sitting on Ash's knees and holding his wrists to the floor she was preventing him from moving at all. All the while Eevee was using her fluffy tail to tickle his bare feet while Pikachu watched from the sofa. He still looked a little tired but otherwise was enjoying the entertainment that was being provided for him.

"Please May, I surrender I surrender!" Ash continued between laughs while still trying to get away. But with the way that May was positioned he couldn't get the leverage needed to completely get her off.

"No way Ash Ketchum, this is payback for what you did." Looking over her shoulder she smiled as her faithful partner continued the ministrations with her tail to the trainer's feet. "Keep it up Eevee, just a little more and I'll give you some of my special Pokéblock after dinner."

Perking up a bit Eevee gleefully made her way to the other foot before continuing the same procedure.

"Pikachu, buddy, please, do something!" Ash began begging his own partner as seeing that asking May was getting him nowhere fast.

"Pika." The mouse slowly shook its head back and forth before resting it back down on the cushion.

"Traitor."

Dawn was just about to finally step in and pull May off of Ash when she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. Looking up Dawn saw a cheerful looking young woman in her mid-forties with kind brown eyes and long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. It took her a few seconds but Dawn recognized the person, she had talked to her a few times on the phone and she was in one of the two pictures that Ash always seemed to have on him. The other being a group photo of him and his friends, taken apparently less than a month before she met him.

"Aright May I think that's enough for now," the woman said. "Ash, are you willing to apologize to her yet?"

"Yes, yes! I said that I would minutes ago! She just wouldn't stop," he complained as May finally got off of him and helped him up. "Was that really necessary?"

"Now Ash you should know better than to say anything about a woman's weight," Delia said before heading back into the kitchen.

"But I didn't say anything!" He protested.

"You don't necessarily have to."

Huffing a bit Ash looked up to see Dawn standing there, freezing for a moment as a thought passed through his head the trainer just gave nervous laugh. "How about we just go and eat?"

Watching him start rush into the kitchen Dawn easily figured out what the trainer was thinking. "Ash if you have something to say, say it out loud," she growled as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"_Not in a million years. May went easy on me I'd hate to see what Dawn would do to me. Besides she would probably take it completely wrong on purpose."_

"Well um, I was just thinking how great your hair looks today Dawn," he got out before quickly disappearing around the corner.

Her original thoughts disappearing in an instant his last words just echoed in her mind, _"Wait, did he just say what I think he said? I must be hearing things, cause I thought he just said that he thinks that my hair looks great… That's the first time he's ever said anything like that to me…"_

"Looks like he learned his lesson didn't he?" Looking over after hearing no response May looked into her friend's blank stare. "Hello? Dawn?"

Snapping her fingers in front of the blunette's eyes May still got no response and just shrugged it off.

"Right…come on Eevee time to eat. You too Pikachu." With the two Pokémon in tow the coordinator headed off into the kitchen as well.

Snapping out of her trance only by Buneary's struggling to get out of her trainer's grasp and follow Pikachu, Dawn finally realized that she was alone in the living room. "Huh where did, oh." Finally letting her Pokémon go she followed it to go eat as well.

Entering the small room Dawn could see that the others were already sitting at the table waiting for her. Buneary on the other hand rushed over to a spot near the wall where three bowls of food were placed. Seeing that Pikachu and Eevee were already starting to enjoy their meal she had to make sure that her presence was known as well. That Evolution Pokémon wouldn't get all the attention. But of course on the way she made sure to "accidentally" hop on her tail

Letting out a quick yelp the small Pokémon immediately glared at her rival as the rabbit nonchalantly continued onto her food bowl. Letting out a low growl Eevee went back to her food but made sure as to keep one eye on her aggressor at all times. Getting mad like that in front of the object of their affection would only put her at a disadvantage in the long run.

Looking over Pikachu just cocked his head at Eevee's expression before looking at their other eating partner who was happily eating her food, exactly as if nothing had happened. Shrugging the Mouse Pokémon just returned to eating his own meal. Sadly though, he wasn't able to completely enjoy this usually relaxing time, consistently feeling glares erupting from either side of himself he felt nervous just being there. Deciding to try and stay out of whatever fight the two were having the poor Pokémon ate in complete silence without even looking at anything other than what was right in front of him. Yet even still he couldn't shake the feeling that it would be impossible to completely stay out of their battle.

* * *

"So Ash honey, what are your plans now that you've completed the Sinnoh league?"

Striking up a conversation Delia wanted to break the odd silence that was present at the table as well. Dawn had been playing with her food for the last few minutes with a small smile on her face while the other two kids were shoveling food down at, what was for them at least, a normal pace.

"Oh yeah I haven't told you yet," Ash replied while looking up from his once again empty plate. "I was thinking of just laying low for a few months and relaxing. After that I'm not really sure. I was hoping to find something in Johto again but otherwise I might get in touch with Scott to see if he has any ideas as to where I should try next and if even that doesn't work then I might just reapply for the Indigo League."

"Well you seem to have most of your bases covered. May, how about you?"

"I'm thinking of heading home for a bit and then possibly heading for Sinnoh. The few stories that I've heard from Ash makes it sound like the perfect place to go next," she answered with a smile before grabbing another couple hot dogs.

"And Dawn?"

"Huh?" Snapping out of her trance again Dawn looked up at the person who said her name. "I'm sorry I was a little distracted, what was the question again?"

"I asked what your plans were for your next journey dear," Mrs. Ketchum stated again, a worried expression on her face.

"Oh right, sorry about that."

"Are you okay Dawn? You haven't even touched your food, do you not like it? I can make you something else if you want."

"Oh no it's delicious thank you, I just have a few things going on in my head." Noticing a long glance from May towards her Dawn continued. "Let's see I might go through either Kanto or Hoenn to participate in their contests but then again seeing as how much fun it was traveling with Ash I might just follow along with him for a little while longer."

Suddenly a loud coughing was heard as everyone looked over to see Ash pounding his chest a bit to clear it before taking a long drink of milk. "Sorry, ate just a tad too fast."

"So none of you have any definite plans then? Well then how about I give you an idea," Delia stated with a big smile on her face. "It just so happens that I recently won a couple of tickets to a resort island for a few days, and seeing as how I have no one to go with I was going to give them to you Ash as a congratulations for winning your first regional tournament."

"Really?" Ash instantly brightened up at the thought of being able to enjoy the sun and surf right after a stressful time at the finals. Dawn and May both brightened up to the idea of going off and sunbathing on the white sand beaches, but it wasn't long til' both the girls found a small problem with the situation.

"But," she continued. "That was before I knew that you were going to bring two guests back with you Ash."

"So wait a minute you mean that I have to choose one of them to come with me while the other stays back?" His face started to turn a very light shade of red at the thought of actually asking her to come with him alone to a resort. He opened his mouth to respond but was instantly curt off by his mom before he even started.

"Close but not quite."

"Huh?"

"I've decided to give the tickets to the girls. You can go along too if you want to but you'll have to pay for it yourself."

"You can't be serious," Ash said flatly.

"Completely," she responded with her ever-present smile. "Consider this as treating them to the vacation as a thank you for being there throughout your journey."

"And if I disagree to your methods?"

"I'm not saying you have to go Honey. This is just as much a thank you from myself for the two girls taking care of you for the last three years."

"Taking care of…what do you mean by that? I was the one looking over them!"

"Sure Honey, now if you want to get there as soon as possible the next ferry leaves tomorrow so you might want to make preparations now."

"Right, preparations." Getting up and bringing his dishes to the sink Ash started to walk out of the kitchen, deep in thought. "Come on Pikachu," he called out before plopping himself down on the couch with his ever-present partner right next to him.

"Oh and Ash? I've asked May to move her things into your room for the night," Delia called out to him as she started to take care of the rest of the dishes.

"What! Why?"

"To be fair I thought that Dawn should get the bigger bed in the guest bedroom because May had it last night. You can sleep down here tonight."

"Great I just got home and I'm already kicked out of my own bed," he mumbled as the two coordinators and their Pokémon came to join him in the living room.

"Sorry Ash," May said as she sat down in one of the chairs. "If you want I can sleep down here tonight and you can get your bedroom. I mean it is yours after all."

"No it's okay May, if anything I should be the one apologizing," Ash told her with a sigh. "You are the guest here so you should be the one getting the bed, not me. Pikachu and I will be fine down here for one night. I'm just a little tired from everything that's happened today. Besides after we get back from the resort I'll have months to spend sleeping in my own bed. One night won't be too bad."

"Thanks Ash."

"You have a nice place here Ash," Dawn spoke up after the other two were done. "It kinda reminds me of my own house back in Sinnoh."

"Thanks Dawn, I kinda forgot that this is the first time that you've been here. If you want I can give you a simple tour of the house. There isn't much here but it has always been enough for just my mom and me."

"I'd love that Ash," she replied with a large smile growing on her face.

"Alright then," he said while getting up and letting Pikachu onto his shoulder. "We can start with the downstairs and work our way up. You okay down here by yourself May or would you like to join us?"

"I'll be fine. In fact I think I'll go take a shower while you are giving her the tour so that I don't have to worry about it tomorrow morning," May said as she got up as well and headed for the stairs. "See you in a bit."

Looking back at Dawn Ash gave off his trademark smirk and offered her his hand. "So shall we start?"

* * *

After showing her virtually every room in the house Ash had decided to head to sleep after the long trek that they had just finished up with to get back to Pallet Town. Dawn was sitting in the guest bedroom with her sleeping clothes on thinking about that day and the days to come.

"I just can't figure it all out Buneary," she started, looking over at the Rabbit Pokémon who was sitting on the bed next to her. "There's no doubt that Eevee wants to be with Pikachu and yet May shows virtually no signs of liking Ash beyond normal friendship. With Pokémon supposedly taking on the characteristics of their trainer this is what's confusing me the most. Is May acting like she doesn't care about Ash or is there truly nothing there?"

"Buneary," her Pokémon shrugged. Even though she had her own problems with the Evolution Pokémon, Buneary knew that this was something that was consistently on her trainer's mind and also knew that this would probably affect her own chances of being with Pikachu.

"I just don't know what to think. And even if she does like Ash I don't think that I would be able to bring myself to hating her for it. No matter what she is still my friend and that won't change. Yet still, why does she get to sleep in Ash's room?" She finished up while falling back onto the queen sized bed. "I mean if she doesn't like him like that why her?"

After a few seconds of fuming over that little fact Dawn heard someone knocking at the door.

"_Now I wonder who that could be."_

"Come in, the doors open," she called out as she sat up.

"I hope I'm not disturbing anything," the person said as she opened the door slowly.

"No it's okay May, did you need something?"

The young coordinator stepped into the room with her hair out of its normal position as it lay down across her shoulders and back, still a little wet from the shower. May walked to the bed and sat down next to Buneary, yet still on the other side of Dawn. She was wearing some flannel pajama pants and an oversized red shirt, obviously getting ready for bed as well. Yet Eevee was noticeably absent from the coordinator's shoulder.

"Well I just wanted to talk to you about something, just the two of us," May began while reaching out to pet Buneary. After a couple questionable seconds Buneary soon relaxed into May's touch as she scratched her between the ears, giving off a soft coo in the process.

"And what would that be?" Dawn asked tentatively.

"I guess it would be best just to get right to the point. You like Ash don't you."

Caught completely off guard by her statement Dawn had to think fast for her reply. "Well of course he's my friend why wouldn't I like him?"

"_What is she getting at?"_ Dawn wondered as she gave unconsciously gave a nervous smile.

"You know that's not what I meant," May said sternly.

"I…well…I mean…you…" Dawn was at a loss for words. She knew the true answer to May's question but was hesitant to tell her. If she lied and May liked Ash then she might lose the battle before it even started. If she told her the truth it could unravel their friendship in an instant. After a big sigh she knew that it was now or never. "Yes," she said simply in a defeated tone.

"I knew it!" May quietly cheered. "And Eevee didn't even want me to ask."

"Huh?"

Dawn was surprised at May's reaction; it was last on the long list of things that she was expecting the brunette to say.

"I had a good assumption that was the case earlier today during the battle, and when you started acting weird after Ash complimented your hair I knew that this was probably the reason."

"So wait a second, you mean that you don't mind?"

"Of course not, why would I mind that two of my close friends are getting together?"

"So you don't like Ash that way?"

"Well to be honest I did have a bit of a crush on him while we were traveling together," she said while looking down at her feet. "But it was nothing more than that, a crush. I had just started my journey and he was the one who would go out of his way to help me in any way that he could, from emotional problems to even things like coordinating which he knew virtually nothing about. How could any girl not fall for a cute boy who would do that for her?"

"But…" Dawn stated, edging her to continue.

"But after we parted and went our separate ways I knew that it wouldn't be anything more than that. I still think about him almost every day for everything that he did for me but there's nothing that I can really do about it now."

Dawn couldn't help but notice the blush that had spread its way across her face as the other coordinator spilled her own secret. Although it felt like a big weight was lifted from her shoulders after hearing May say that she didn't like Ash, there was still one thing that bothered her. "And what about Eevee?"

"What about Eevee?" May asked slightly confused at the apparently random question.

"Well if you haven't noticed she is going after Pikachu quite a bit as of late."

"Oh you mean that? She's been doing that since she was little. It's nothing new. Those two have been close ever since she was born and it's been going on like that ever since, even if Pikachu can get quite scared of her when she gets overly excited. I'm not really sure of the reason for that but he must know something that we don't. Of course it didn't help once Eevee perfected being able to sneak up on him without him even noticing. I'm not sure how she is able to do it but I can think of no other that can do it as easily as she can. Still it made for some truly entertaining times. Team Rocket would have loved to have her on their side," she finished with a giggle.

Finally content with May's answer Dawn started to relax. "So I assume that this wasn't the only thing that you wanted to talk about coming in here this late."

"You would be correct. Tell you what, how about I help you in getting Ash to notice you. We both know how difficult it is for Ash to realize anything that doesn't involve Pokémon."

"Really you would do that? Why?"

"Do you really need to ask? You're my friend Dawn, and friends help each other out. Besides like I said, with him as your target you need all the help you can get." Stifling a large yawn May looked at the clock before getting up off the bed. "Well I think that it's about time to go to sleep. We can talk about this more in the morning if you want. Otherwise the plan will start when we get to the resort."

"Sounds great, but I really don't know how much to thank you for all of this."

"You can start thanking me when you two are together after the vacation. Goodnight Dawn," May said as she walked out of the door, closing it behind herself.

"Goodnight May. And thank you."

Waiting a few moments to make sure that she wasn't still outside the door Dawn gave off a resounding "Yes!" before once again falling back onto the bed letting out content squeals as the different thoughts and fantasies were racing through her head.

"You hear that Buneary? Not only do I not have to worry about May trying to go after Ash as well but she's actually going to help me get together with him! And by the way it sounds you don't have anything to worry about from Eevee as well. Sure enough the Pokémon takes after the trainer. Her little one is just very good friends with Pikachu and probably sees him more like a father figure or even an older brother. Who would have thought that a single word like that would make me feel so uplifted? And it's not as if she lying cause who would actively help someone get together with the person that they love? The next few days are going to be some of the best of my life!" Getting under the covers Dawn let out a large yawn of her own before pulling the blankets around herself. "Goodnight Buneary, see you in the morning."

While the Pokémon was no doubt happy for her trainer she didn't have the heart to try and tell her that at least part of that little rant wasn't correct. Looking back to the door Buneary knew that there was some misinformation mixed in with the truth of what was said. The Normal-type didn't think that May was lying about anything she said but there was one thing that Buneary knew for a fact, while love and friendship may be universal ideas between humans and Pokémon the way that each expresses them are very different. And the way that Eevee was acting towards Pikachu didn't exactly say "just best friends".

* * *

May strode into her room with a big smile on her face as she sat down on Ash's bed, Eevee contently curled up on a spot near her pillow. On somewhat of an impulse she grabbed her pack and looked through it for only a second before finding what she wanted. Smiling at the object May looked over at her Pokémon.

"I told you Eevee, Dawn did like Ash. And now that I know that's a fact I can start trying to get those two together."

Looking up from her spot Eevee gazed at her trainer with a somewhat sad look on her face, almost as if she was disappointed with her. From that one look May knew exactly what her Pokémon was thinking, she was the first one that May confided that secret with and until only a few moments ago the only one.

"Oh come on Eevee we both know that my crush on Ash was nothing more than that. Ash has spent the last year-and-a-half away from us and has moved on with his life as well. He never even once gave me the slightest idea that he thought of me as more than a friend the entire time we were together. Even with as dense as he is one would think he would have let part of it slip at some point, I mean he is a boy after all. Besides with that crush gone I can at least let those two find happiness. There're plenty more boys out there that I will probably fall for in the years to come." Giving a half-hearted smile she noticed something that was kinda off from her partner's actions. "Hey Eevee is there a reason you like that spot so much? Cause ever since I started my shower you haven't moved ever once you first made your way to the bed."

"Vee," the little Pokémon nodded while putting her head back down to the sheets and inhaling deeply though her nose, slowly letting it out as the familiar scent relaxed every one of her muscles. It was a relaxing and yet soothing scent that she enjoyed almost as much as her own trainer's scent. This definitely was where the scent was the strongest and she could only assume that this was the spot that he slept when they were at home.

"Or you can just keep it to yourself I guess." Switching off the lights May made her way back into the bed and crawled underneath the sheets. "The next few days will be busy with us trying to get those two together and everything so we need our rest. Goodnight Eevee, sweet dreams"

As she said this May's own nose caught a specific scent on the pillow. She found that that smell always brought her back to a happy mood, and this time it also brought back vivid memories of the past. As she recalled each memory the brunette could feel her eyes starting to well up as the first of many tears started to flow.

"_Why am I crying?"_ She thought as the first few tears were wiped away by the sleeve of her shirt. _"I'm not sad at all right now; in fact if anything I should be happy, happy to see that Ash and Dawn are going to be getting together and that I am able to help them achieve it. So why?"_

As the young girl eventually fell asleep through the tears her hand relaxed, letting the item held between her fingers to fall out onto the floor; a soft ringing noise sounding out as it hit. Though worn through use the object still shown in the dim moonlight, its golden surface well polished while the white and pink accents displayed the love and care she still held for it.

* * *

Ah the start of the true plot. Well this one was a little longer than I normally like but I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and the next chapter should be up at its normal time.


	4. Beginning of the New Journey

Once again thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter. On to number four.

* * *

The next morning May awoke to the crowing of the town's Dodrio and blinking a few times stretched out her arms, taking in the bright light of the rising sun. Shielding her eyes she looked out of the window to see that it was going to be a beautiful day outside. Not a cloud in the sky and if she remembered correctly the temperature should be perfect for a small vacation.

Looking back down at her pillow May could still see several wet spots where her head just was. Last night she found that the tears never did stop. While she never did find herself sobbing or even feeling sad they just kept on coming steadily up until the point where she finally fell asleep. Feeling slightly embarrassed as to the fact she flipped it over onto the other side, hoping that they would dry before anyone saw them. But even with the reasonless tears she still felt greatly rejuvenated and refreshed.

"I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was in a good bed or finally being around old friends again but that was one of the best sleeps that I've had in a long time," she said to no one in particular. Looking down to see that her partner was still snoozing May decided to allow her a few more minutes while she freshened up for the day.

Changing into a fresh pair of her traveling clothes May quickly ran a brush through her hair to try and straighten out anything before starting the rest of her morning routine. Checking in the mirror again to make sure that there were no outward signs of what happened last night she grabbed a few items before heading into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Finding nobody there she quickly did what she needed to do and headed out, bumping into somebody on the way.

"Oh sorry Dawn, I'm just in a bit of a rush."

"It's no problem May," Dawn replied with a big smile. "Oh and thanks again for everything last night. You didn't need to offer to do all of that."

"It's really no problem. I'm just glad that I'll be able to help you two finally break the ice."

"Yeah, but I also feel as though I should really say sorry to you May."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"Ever since you got here I've been apprehensive of your motives because I thought that I would have to be going up against you for Ash's attention. And yet here you are actually helping me get together with him. Looking back on it makes me feel kinda shallow. So I just wanted to apologize for being so rude yesterday."

"Already forgotten Dawn." Just then a smell wafted up from the stairwell and May's mouth began to water as she recognized several of the many different foods that were being made. "Mmm, pancakes and bacon, my favorite."

"Huh?" Dawn looked at her curiously.

Shaking her head a bit May just started to head back to Ash's room. "You might want to be quick with that shower. It smells as if Mrs. Ketchum is almost done with breakfast."

Glancing curiously at May as she closed the door to her room Dawn just began to smell something coming from downstairs, but it was nothing that she could identify at this point.

"_Man what is it with her and Ash when it comes to food? I swear she must have a sense of smell comparable to a Donphan."_

Laughing a bit at the idea of May with a Donphan's nose, Dawn went to take her morning shower.

* * *

"Alright Eevee, time to wake up," May said as she entered the room.

Lazily glancing up from her spot, Eevee gave a big yawn before stretching slightly. Yet seemingly right in the middle of her morning stretches she plopped herself right back down in the same spot, and taking another deep breath the young Pokémon fell right back asleep again.

"Come on lazy bones we have to get ready to leave for the island. If you just lay there all day we'll have to leave you behind. And I know how much you want to catch up with Pikachu…"

Perking up instantly at that name the Normal-type was up and out of bed, full of energy. "Vee!" She cried looking up expectantly to her trainer.

"Sure I mention him once and you are ready to leave but when I alone tell you to get up you ignore me. What do you like him more than me?" She joked as the little Pokémon climbed her way up onto May's shoulder.

"Eevee," she purred while rubbing her cheek against her trainer's cheek.

"Alright alright I get it! Please, stop, you know that tickles!" May said in between laughs. "Just give me another minute to finish up here and we'll head downstairs for breakfast."

Grabbing what was left her of things off the floor and putting them into her bag May once again headed for the mirror with her hair brush and bandanna in her hands. But before she could start to style it into its normal position she could feel Eevee start to bat at some of the stay stands that fell onto her nose. Cooing softly as she continued to play with brown locks May couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"So do you like it better this way then?" She asked her playful passenger. Hearing only coos in return May felt as though she had her answer. "Okay we'll do it your way then."

Brushing her hair straight and then taking the bandanna May tried to make sure that it wouldn't interfere with what Eevee apparently liked. It took a minute or to get it right but in the end even May had to agree with the results. Having part of the bandanna tied underneath her hair made it so that it didn't just dominate the whole top of her head. And even with it on her hair still came down to her shoulders.

"You know Eevee this is actually a pretty good look," she said as she shook her head back and forth a few times, letting the hair flow around as she did. "It also feels good to have my hair out instead of all underneath the bandanna. Thanks."

"Vee!" Her little partner responded with a quick nod before going back to playing with her hair.

Giggling at her response May took one last look in the mirror to leave but as she did something caught her eye in the reflection, a small sparkle of golden light was gleaming from near the bed. Looking over to where it would be May gasped slightly as she realized what it was. Quickly walking over she grabbed the ribbon and carefully looked it over, checking for any damage. Satisfied with what she saw the brunette put the object in her pocket, smiling as the many memories it represented flooded her mind.

"_I don't even remember taking that out,"_ she thought as she headed downstairs. _"I'm just glad that I noticed it before we left, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my favorite good luck charm."_

_

* * *

  
_

Ash had woken up just moments ago to the smell of breakfast as it lingered in the living room. Getting up off of the couch where he had retired the night before, he stretched while making sure to pop a few joints in the process. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep that he ever had but nor was it the worst.

"_Just keep telling yourself that you'll get your own big bed for the next few days."_ He thought as he wandered into the kitchen.

"Good morning Honey."

"Morning Ash."

"Morning Mom, morning Ma…"

Looking up Ash was almost speechless as he saw May as she was helping his mom prepare the last of breakfast.

"What?" May asked as Ash just stood there with his mouth part way open. "Did I miss something while I was cleaning up?"

"Your hair," was the only thing he could get out.

"Oh that, you like it?" She asked twirling around once to get it to fly up a bit. "It was mostly Eevee's idea."

"It looks great," he responded almost unconsciously. Shaking his head a few times to clear it he finally looked back at May, who by this point had a curious look on her face.

"You okay Ash?"

"Ya I'm fine."

He had just suddenly felt quite self-conscious about how he looked. She was all ready to leave, with a brand new hairstyle as well, and he was standing there in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt while having not taken a shower since yesterday morning. Scratching his head a bit he laughed nervously as May shrugged and went back to finishing up the last of the meal.

"_Smooth Ash, she changes her hair and you can't get more than a few syllables out,"_ he thought with a big sigh. _"Might as well go grab Pikachu before I make an even bigger fool of myself."_

Stepping out of the kitchen and back into the living room he heard footsteps coming from the stairs and looked up just in time to see Dawn come down with Buneary and her bag in tow.

"Morning Ash," she said as she dropped her bag near the door.

"Morning Dawn. You sleep well?"

"Better than you could imagine," the blunette responded cheerfully.

"Huh?"

Completely confused by her response Ash put it behind him as he went to look for Pikachu while Dawn went into the kitchen. It didn't take that long to find him. Apparently the electric mouse had already woken up as well, though he didn't wake up on his own accord. It seems that while he was still sleeping Eevee had gone and curled up right next to him, and was resting with both of their bodies completely touching. Right as he had woken up Pikachu had jumped up onto the back of the couch out of surprise. When Ash found them Eevee was on her back paws and using her front ones to lean on the back of the sofa with an energetic and playful look on her face.

Visions of what happened the other day along with many of the other times that Eevee came to him in this mood came flashing back to the Electric-type. As she started to climb up to meet him he jumped down to the floor and dashed off into the kitchen.

"Hey Pikachu where…now that's odd," Ash muttered as he looked down at the little Pokémon still in the room who still had a happy look on her face even after seeing Pikachu run off. Giving off another sigh Ash offered an arm to Eevee. "Come on, time to eat anyways." Happily accepting his offer she climbed up and with a soft coo began to rub her face against his. "Okay now that tickles," he said while stifling a laugh.

Entering the kitchen Ash found Dawn already sitting down with Buneary in her lap while his mom and May were placing the food on the table. Looking around he noticed where his own Pokémon ran off to. He was on top of May's head again and was looking very comfortable, but as soon as he saw Eevee he made sure to keep an eye on her as she just stayed on Ash's shoulder.

Not overlooking the interaction between the two Buneary looked from her rival to her love interest a few times, but what she was surprised the most about had nothing to do with sight. Turning to face Eevee she caught whiff of a familiar scent coming off of the Evolution Pokémon and her eyes went wide as she recognized it. The smell wasn't very strong but it was noticeable, she smelled somewhat like Pikachu. Although to her relief Pikachu didn't really carry any of Eevee's scent. Either way, Buneary gave a fierce look at her rival and it didn't take long for Eevee to catch her glare. The playful smile that she had on quickly changed to a confident one as she looked down at the other Normal-type, mentally giving herself another tally for the win. But even that was short lived as she stuck out her tongue at the Rabbit Pokémon and resumed her usual playful mood.

"Alright Ash sit down, breakfast is ready," his mom said as the last of the food was put on the table.

"Thanks Mom."

"Ya thanks Mrs. Ketchum," Dawn said as well as she started to grab some of the pancakes that were stacked high on the table.

"Well I don't deserve all of the gratitude. May helped out quite a bit as well with the eggs and toast."

"I really didn't do all that much," May stated humbly. "To be quite honest I was just thinking that if I helped out then the food would be done that much sooner. That and I would have felt bad leaving Mrs. Ketchum to do all of the cooking while I just sat in the living room."

"You did just fine dear," Delia said to the slightly blushing coordinator. "But in getting everything ready for you guys we weren't able to get things ready for your Pokémon."

"Don't worry about it Mom, we can just feed them on the ferry," Ash told her as he already downed his third pancake.

Eevee and Pikachu were now in Ash and May's lap respectively, the latter still keeping a silent eye on the former as she happily accepted any morsel of food that Ash handed to her. And in addition to that Buneary was watching both of them from her own trainer's lap, though she wasn't sure what to make of the seemingly odd situation that was going on between the two of them.

"So May what's with the new hairstyle?" Dawn asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"It just kinda came out that way this morning. Eevee was having fun playing with it without my bandanna so I decided to see how it looked this way and it turned out that it didn't look too bad."

"It looks nice," Dawn said apprehensively.

"_I know that she said that she didn't have any feelings for Ash last night but I still can't shake the feeling that she does."_ Looking back up and seeing May with a big smile and putting another fork-full of bacon into her mouth Dawn couldn't help but feel a tad guilty. Shaking her head a couple times Dawn went back to eating. _"No I'm just getting paranoid. May said that she would help me these next few days and I shouldn't be ungrateful for it."_

After much small talk about their various adventures in Sinnoh and Johto the three of them finally had their fill after clearing the entire table of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, waffles, and several omelets. Dawn was quite amazed that May was able to put away so much food and yet still stay as thin as she was. But gazing over at Ash she could only guess how he was able to match her appetite and stay that fit as well.

Letting Eevee down as he got up from the table, Ash headed out of the kitchen. "I'm going to head upstairs to shower," Ash told them while stating up the stairs. And after taking a quick glance back towards a certain someone, Pikachu wasn't far behind him.

Thanking Mrs. Ketchum again for the food the two coordinators left for the living room to wait for Ash to finish up.

"So are you ready to start trying to get Ash to notice you more?" May whispered a little after they sat down.

"Mm-hmm," Dawn nodded. "What have you got planned?"

"Not a thing," she responded completely seriously.

"What? I thought that you said you were going to help me with this."

"I did and I will. Just cut me some slack, I've never done anything like this before and I'm just trying to think of it on the fly."

"Great. Well any help is better than no help."

"Help with what?"

Looking up the two girls saw Mrs. Ketchum walk into the living room and sit down next to them.

"Coordinating," May quickly told her. "Dawn wanted some help with how to improve her performance for the next Grand Festival."

"Well that's nice of you to do that May. Which reminds me, I never did actually ask you, did you do well in your last Grand Festival?"

"I placed second. I was able to do better than last time but in the end I once again lost to a coordinator named Solidad. She was the one who beat me in the Kanto Grand Festival as well. But considering that she has won at least two cups I don't feel all that bad about losing to her. It makes me think that I have room to improve. It was something that Ash made sure to drill into me while we were still traveling together." Feeling a smile make its way onto her face May once again started to relive many of the memories of their travels. "He's done so much for me I doubt I would have gotten this far without his help, nor ever find a way to repay him for it."

Not one to miss her expression Delia proceeded to look over at Dawn. "And how about you Dawn? Did you do well?"

"Unlike May I was only able to get into the top 16," she said while scratching the back of her head. "But I also have to say that I doubt I would have been able to get that far without your son's help. He seemed to know more about coordinating than I did when we first met, and I can only assume that it was from teaching May. He was able to get me on the right track and help me achieve my dream of becoming a great coordinator like my mom."

"Sounds like you both have a lot of reasons to like traveling with Ash. He always did seem to have a personality that would attract certain people to him, and it was his ambition towards Pokémon that I knew he would affect many people's lives as time went on. And after hearing everything you two just said I know that it was the truth."

Both Dawn and May found themselves blushing at the comments made by Mrs. Ketchum, and she just smiled at the two of them.

"But I also know that my son has a very one-track mind and you two; along with Brock, Misty, and Tracey; made sure to keep him from doing anything too crazy. And for that I have to thank you. Truthfully I had my doubts that he would have been able to do so well on his own, yet with the support of his friends he was able to pull through even that. So here are the tickets that I promised you two and I hope that you enjoy yourselves," the brunette said as she took the tickets out of her pocket and handed one to each of them. "Those are a set but they will act individually as ferry passes and access to the two bedroom suite at the hotel. Depending on how you want to deal with the third spot it would be possible to allow Ash to sleep in the living room of the suite or you can make him get his own room, I'll leave that decision up to you." Standing up and straightening out her dress Mrs. Ketchum headed back towards the kitchen, but before she did the happy mother turned around with a big smile on her face. "I know that one of you two will make him very happy one day." Turning back the brunette then disappeared into the kitchen.

Both girls were speechless from Mrs. Ketchum's little talk. But it wasn't from what she was saying about the resort or even the fact that she was doing all of this just to thank them for taking care of her son.

"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" Dawn finally asked after a few silent moments.

"You mean the part about making Ash 'very happy one day'? Yeah, you heard correctly."

"Does she know or am I just getting paranoid again?"

"Well she is a mom so it might be mother's intuition or something cause I don't think that she would have overheard us just now. Even if she did then why would she say you two?" May shrugged. "And what do you mean by getting 'paranoid again'?"

"Oh nothing, I'm just babbling a bit," Dawn said, trying to cover up her little slip.

Hearing footsteps running down the steps the coordinators looked up to see Ash jump the last few steps and hit the floor with a thud.

"Ash Ketchum what did I say about running in the house!"

"Sorry Mom," he called out before walking up to his friends. "So you guys ready to leave?"

"Pika pika!" The yellow mouse cheered from his trainer's shoulder.

"Ready and willing," May said as she got up. "Your mom has already given us our tickets so we can leave at any time."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The blunette coordinator exuberantly called out as she headed towards the door with Buneary close behind.

"Follow her I guess," May said as she looked over at Ash. Turning back to the couch she held her arm out for the last member of their little group. "Come on Eevee, time for some fun."

"Vee!" The little Pokémon agreed climbing up onto her trainer's shoulder before looking over at Pikachu who was at the same place as she was, just on his own trainer.

Giving a quick smile back at Ash, May grabbed his arm before pulling the trainer out of the door.

"Hey, May I can walk on my own you know!" He called out before the door closed behind them.

Watching the entire scene Delia was happy to see her son and his friends were going to be taking a break from all of their traveling to be able to just relax and have a bit of fun without having to worry about battles or contests. Though she knew that it would more than likely become far more than that by the time they returned.

* * *

Alright so I know that I used the same reasoning for May changing her hair in my last fic but there is just something about picturing Eevee sitting on May's shoulder batting at the hair that I just love. Call me crazy but it's the truth. Well thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Plans Are Set Into Motion

Once again thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter. Can't really think of anything to say so might as well just start.

* * *

"Who would have thought that the ferry would have been that expensive?"

"Oh stop complaining Ash and be glad that Dawn and I agreed to allow you to sleep on the couch in our room at the resort."

"Besides this is an overnight cruise so of course it will be a little expensive."

"You two are just saying that because you didn't have to pay. And besides, that was supposed to be my room in the first place."

The three of them were sitting on the deck of the ship watching the sun lower itself down to the horizon.

"But who was it that spent even more money on the buffet?" May asked. "You're lucky that it was an all you can eat cause otherwise it would have cost a fortune."

"Oh sure bring that up again, once again you guys didn't also have to pay for your food, unlike me. So you can get away with eating whatever you wanted. And besides you ate way…" Ash stopped mid sentence as May gave him a hard glare. "Right, shutting up now," he finished with a defeated sigh, remembering the forbidden topic.

With a content smile on her face, May looked over at her two human companions and then back to the setting sun. Considering everything she knew that her plan to help get Dawn and Ash together would work better the sooner they started, and this setting was perfect to do just that.

"I still have a few things that I need to take care of so I'm heading back inside for a while," she said while starting to walk towards the door leading back inside. "It shouldn't take too long but you don't need to wait up for me. Eevee we're heading back."

The Normal-type was sitting on the deck on one side of Pikachu with Buneary sitting on the other. Pikachu of course was not completely enjoying himself being under a near constant watch by these two, but he was at least starting to understand why it was happening. There could be only one real reason for both of them to be acting like this. What did humans call it again, love? Of course there was more to it than just the feeling alone. The idea of a mate wasn't really on his mind so he never gave it much thought up until this point. But with the current situation either he would have to tell them both off for now or choose one. Neither option was really all that appealing at this point.

Both Eevee and Buneary were also having their own problems. Neither wanted to move from their spot, else give their rival a possible advantage, but the former never disobeyed her trainer and if she was calling to leave there was little that could be done about it. Even though for the first time in her life she was considering actually going against the command, loyalty towards the one that had looked over her since her birth won out in the end. Giving one last defiant look to the other Normal-type she calmly followed her trainer back into the ship.

Mentally thanking May for her actions, Dawn knew exactly why she did that. Looking back at Ash he was still staring out over the ocean as the sun got progressively lower.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She finally asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah; it is, isn't it?"

"_Great, I have him alone with a fantastic setting and I have absolutely no clue what to say! Come on Dawn think, May gave you this opportunity and you shouldn't blow it."_

"So Ash what are your plans for the future?"

"_What kind of stupid question was that?!"_ She berated herself right as the words came out.

"The future? What do you mean by that?" Ash asked her completely confused. "I already told everyone last night what I was planning to do."

"No not the immediate future but, let's say…five years down the road. You'd be almost twenty-one by that point and your whole life will be opening up to you."

"Why the sudden interest in that?"

"I was just wondering," she responded as unassumingly as possible.

"_Okay what is she getting at? Not even my mom has asked me this question yet,"_ Ash thought as he stared at the fidgety blunette.

"Fine, I guess there's really no reason not to tell you. I don't really have anything thought out too much but it would be nice to get a job as either a gym leader of sorts or possibly even a Pokémon Ranger. I mean I'm going to run out of gyms some day," he ended with a laugh.

"And anything else?"

"Well starting a family might be on my agenda as well. But I would have no clue about that one just yet. That's not something we're really supposed to even be worrying about now anyways."

"Right, of course not."

While Dawn was having trouble striking up a good conversation with Ash, Buneary was trying to use the opportunity herself and get closer to Pikachu with Eevee's absence. Getting up next to the electric mouse Buneary tried to act as innocent as possible in doing so. But even with her right next to him Pikachu's attention was elsewhere.

Not even noticing her movement, Pikachu was just staring out into the horizon. Now that the thought of actually choosing a mate was more-or-less being forced on him, it was hard to get the thought out of his mind. He had to admit that they both had reasons for him to be interested in them but there was also the problem of how his trainer would be fitting into the equation. If he chose the partner of the other person that Ash chose that would only make things worse in the end.

Buneary of course, having no clue at what was going through Pikachu's mind, only used the moment to get somewhat closer as the sun started to disappear. Seeing him not back away like he did with Eevee she gladly took it as another point for her.

* * *

"Come on Dawn I gave you a great opportunity and you just aren't using it."

Watching them from the upper deck, May was trying to make sure that everything went well with them while she was gone. She couldn't really hear what they were saying but looking at their body movements she could guess that Dawn was having trouble getting Ash's attention.

"Man, this is going to be harder than I thought. Don't you think Eevee? Eevee?"

Looking down at her partner who was standing on the deck, the little Pokémon wasn't even paying attention to her trainer. Her eyes fixated on the other two that were down there. Seeing Buneary get physically closer to Pikachu like that made her instinctively growl but once the thought that no matter what she did up here would be able to affect them her shoulders and tail went limp.

"Vui." The voice was soft and full of emotion, but just watching what was going on below her was almost too much and made her feel completely powerless.

"Eevee what's wrong?" May asked as she picked up the limp Pokémon. Following her gaze May caught sight of the two Pokémon on the deck. "Is that the reason you are like this?"

"Vee," was her response, with only a slight nod of her head.

"But for you to react like that at seeing…oh no; Eevee do you like Pikachu that much?" Receiving nothing more than a deep sigh, May got her answer. Pulling the little one in closer for a comforting embrace, May spoke softly to her as she slowly pet her on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry Eevee, all this time I was thinking that you still only liked him as an older brother. I didn't realize that you cared this deeply for him."

Yet even with her apologies May could tell that that wouldn't be enough for her.

"I've been only thinking about myself and how to help those two I'd completely forgotten about you. Tell you what, even though I may be helping Dawn win over Ash, it doesn't mean that I'm going to help Buneary win over Pikachu."

At the sound of those words Eevee instantly perked up and looked at her trainer with an expectant yet cheerful face.

"I'll try to make sure that at least one of us will be able to fulfill their dreams on this trip."

"Eevee!" Jumping up to her shoulder Eevee started to rub her cheek on May's causing the latter to laugh as the soft fur began to tickle.

"Alright alright I get it. You're welcome. We'll just have to both try our best."

Looking back down at her friends, May could see Dawn shiver slightly and say something to Ash. It wasn't long after that Ash took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"There we go, now that's progress," May said with a triumphant smile.

After another minute or two the sun was nearly completely below the horizon but what caught May's eye the most was that Dawn stepped a little closer to Ash and rested her head on his shoulders.

"Okay that's a lot of progress," she said again, this time with far less passion. "Looks like they're hitting it off rather well."

May suddenly felt a light but stabbing pain coming from her chest as she continued to watch the two of them. Quickly bringing her hands up to the spot May could slowly feel it go away, but even after the initial pain her chest still felt tight as she began to take long deep breaths.

"Vee?"

Looking back at Eevee, May tried to put on her normal smile. "Sorry I don't know what came over me. Don't worry I'll be just fine. It's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all."

Eevee could tell that her trainer wasn't being completely truthful, and she could probably guess the reason why. Even though her trainer wouldn't admit it, it was hard for both of them to watch the scene down below.

Climbing back down into May's arms, Eevee did the only thing that she could think of doing by cuddling into her trainer's thoughtful grasp. If she couldn't give her words of comfort as she had just received, then at least she could do this.

"Eevee…" The brunette whispered as she looked down at the ball of brown fur happily lying in her arms. The sight made May completely forget about everything else that was happening, if only for that moment.

"Thank you," she finally said with a sad, but genuine, smile on her face. "I know that you for one will always be there for me and in return I will be for you."

"Vee."

"I think that it's about time to head down there, with the sun down we should probably head off to our rooms to get some sleep."

It didn't take long for the brunette to navigate her way down to the main deck and walk out to meet up with her friends. Both Ash and Dawn looked up as soon as the door closed behind her and quickly the two of them pulled away from each other with large blushes across their faces. May could feel her chest start to tighten up again but tried to ignore the feeling.

"I was thinking that I would be heading off to bed now, so I just came back here to say goodnight," she said while faking a smile.

"That's not a bad idea," Ash hastily chimed in. "Goodnight you two, see you in the morning. Come on Pikachu."

Snapping himself out of the trance that he was in, Pikachu took one last look at the other two Pokémon there before running up onto his trainer's shoulder as they headed back to their room.

"So how did it go?" May innocently asked Dawn as the latter picked up a slightly disappointed Buneary.

"It went great!" Dawn cheered. "It didn't start out all that well but in the end he gave me his coat to wear and I was able to lean up against him and watch the sunset. We may not have said all that much but I think that it's a good start. Don't you?"

"Yep, the first step is always the hardest. So after that it only gets easier."

"Thanks again May! Come on Buneary, time to go to sleep."

Watching them as they left, Buneary and Eevee both gave each other smug looks but they both knew who the winner of this round was. As soon as they were out of sight May looked back over the railing to the fading light from the sun's rays. Watching the red-tinted clouds blow across the horizon of deep blue she could only imagine how romantic it must have been for them. Giving off a big sigh she looked down at her partner. "Time for us to go to bed as well, huh?"

Not even waiting for a response May headed back for her room. Closing the door behind her, Eevee quickly ran and jumped onto the bed, finding a nice spot near the pillow and made herself comfortable. May on the other hand slowly walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, next to where Eevee had chosen.

"Hey Eevee, do you think that I'm a bad friend?"

"Vui?" Looking up at her trainer, Eevee could only wonder where a question like that would have come up.

"I'd like to think that I'm not, but I'm trying to get Ash and Dawn together and yet at the same time I get this odd feeling that I shouldn't. I want to continue to believe that my crush for Ash is gone but…I just don't know right now. He's been the greatest friend that I've ever had."

"Vee."

"Alright, greatest _human_ friend. The one thing that I want right now is my friends' happiness, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure that it happens. They looked so happy together tonight so who am I to let a little crush come in between true love?"

Quickly changing into her sleeping clothes of flannel pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, May crawled into bed. But for the second night in a row the tears once again began to fall.

"_I know what is best so why can't I seem to accept it? My role is nothing more than the supporter. Damn these tears, I just can't…"_

Even if she could now guess the reasoning as to why she was crying it didn't help it one bit, in fact it only made it seem worse. As the crying became a little more intense Eevee quietly crawled into the arms of her trainer, making herself comfortable before giving a big yawn and falling asleep surrounded by the warmth and scent of her trainer. Looking down at the sleeping ball of fur that had wriggled its way next to her, May couldn't help but feel some of her worries disappear. Just knowing she had the support of her Pokémon was enough to keep May's mind off of her problems and that night she fell asleep with dry eyes.

* * *

The next morning May woke up feeling refreshed but still a little down from everything that happened the night before. Making sure not to wake Eevee she grabbed a change of clothes and took her morning shower.

"_Ahh, this is what I needed,"_ May thought as she stood in the shower letting the warm water run down her body. _"I'm not sure why I'm letting a simple crush on Ash get the better of me but this makes everything feel so much better. If possible I could just stay in here all day."_

Too bad that reality had other plans, hearing the alarm go off on her Pokétch she knew that it was about time for all of them to meet up. Quickly finishing her shower and taking care of the rest of her morning routine, May got dressed and exited the small bathroom to find Eevee still asleep, as usual.

"You know this is a bad habit of yours," she told the Pokémon with a sigh. "Every day you sleep in and every day I need to make sure that you get your lazy butt moving." Just then she cracked a smile as the thought of how to resolve this issue popped into her head. "Then again stay asleep. I'm sure Buneary would love to see you get left on the ship while we head out, less competition over Pikachu."

Sure enough, as the brunette had predicted, Eevee's ears quickly perked up at the sound of his name and it wasn't long after that she was stretching and looking ready to start the day.

"Looks like I've finally found a reliable way to get you moving. Too bad that it'll only work for a few more days." Walking over to the mirror May started to fix her hair for the day. Curious as to her final comment Eevee jumped off the bed and made her way over to the vanity, nimbly climbing her way up onto the counter to see May put the finishing touches on her hair.

"Eve?" The little Pokémon asked while cocking her head to the side a bit.

"Huh? Oh you must want to know what I meant by that."

"Vee." Her curiosity had gotten the better of her many times before but this time it felt different. Considering the topic she would want to hear everything there was to say.

"Well the reason that it'll only work for a few more days is by that time you'll already have Pikachu's undivided attention, so threatening you with a rival would be pointless," May smiled as her partner walked over to her hand and started to coo softly while rubbing her face on May's wrist. "Well I did promise you didn't I? There, all done!"

Turning a few times in the mirror, May made sure that everything was perfect. Deciding that she liked the new style she had on yesterday more than her old one, she had tried to make it look like that again.

"Besides," she started talking to no one in particular. "Now that I've gotten second place in a Grand Festival I'm definitely no rookie anymore, and to help with that change anther should go along with it. Don't you agree?"

"Vee!"

"Great minds do think alike. Now let's go find Ash and Dawn."

Double checking to make sure that she had everything May went to the most likely place where should would find Ash, and thus probably Dawn as well, the cafeteria.

* * *

Sure enough, opening the doors to the cafeteria May saw her two friends eating breakfast. It seemed that she had slept in a bit compared to them as they were both already finishing up their meals. But what changed her mood instantly was seeing the two of them laughing as they picked at the last of their food. The happy disposition that she had found herself in while taking her shower quickly changed as the tightness in her chest began to reappear. Determined that today wouldn't turn out like yesterday, after a few deep breaths May walked into the room trying to keep these gloomy feelings under wraps.

Grabbing a large double chocolate muffin from the counter, May sat down beside Dawn and began to unwrap it. Eevee was quick to jump off of her trainer's shoulder and find her way to Pikachu and Buneary, who were currently sitting on the table eating what was left of their own breakfast. Of course the latter was much too close for Eevee's, or Pikachu's for that matter, comfort. Pikachu almost felt relieved to see Eevee there as well, if not only to take Buneary out of his personal space.

"So what should we do first today?" Dawn spoke up as May finished half of her muffin. Yet after she finished the top May seemed to slow down, apparently lost in thought.

"How about we check into the hotel, drop our things off, and explore the town for a bit?" Ash suggested after swallowing the last of his waffle. "We came here to relax so why waste it?"

"Sounds good to me, May?"

"Huh? Oh yeah sure." Engrossed in and sorting through everything that had gone on the last couple days May found that she was barely paying attention to their conversation, unconsciously pulling apart the last of her muffin. Rediscovering an old crush while trying to help a friend obtain the same person was almost becoming a nightmare for her. Caught between what could have happened and what she should do as a friend. It was almost to the point where she felt as if she …

"Are you okay May?" Ash asked, interrupting her thoughts and looking directly at her. "You seem a little out of it. Not to mention you're barely eating."

"I'm fine Ash thanks. I'm just a little tired that's all." The brunette waved it off as she took another big bite of her muffin.

"If you say so, but if there is anything on your mind, anything at all, that you want to talk about; I'm willing to listen."

Looking up to see him with his trademark smile on his face May couldn't help but feel better. _"It's that smile of his that first got me and it still has the same affect. As long as those two are happy I guess that's all that matters. True love will always win out in the end."_

"Thanks Ash but I think I'm already feeling a bit better." Grabbing what was left of her wrapper May got up and threw it away before coming and grabbing both Eevee and Pikachu in her arms. "Now that everyone is done how about we find that hotel?"

Eevee made a mental note to again thank her trainer for helping with her own problems as well. With May on her side a simple act like that wouldn't look like much to the other humans, but the price on Buneary's face was priceless to watch as she was pressed up against Pikachu once more. Enjoying the feeling for only a moment Eevee climbed up onto her normal perch on May's left shoulder while Pikachu stayed down in her arms. Now that things were starting to go her way the Evolution Pokémon didn't need to press her luck, after seeing how nervous Pikachu was getting with Buneary constantly hovering over him she figured that a more subtle approach would probably be best. Besides, if he wasn't liking that method why not try something different? Looking back down at Pikachu Eevee gave a courteous smile and nod before making herself comfortable on her trainer's shoulder.

Pikachu on the other hand, who was expecting the worst, looked up at the Evolution Pokémon with a curious expression on his face. Here, one of the two females that was trying to get his attention was put into a position that she could have taken advantage of, and yet she didn't. Not to mention she was always the one to overreact whenever she laid eyes on him, causing the poor Pokémon loads of trouble over the years. Yet even still he could tell that it wasn't because of her not being interested. The little mouse could only wonder what this meant, yet at the same time he was quite intrigued with it. Trying to put it aside for the moment he just made himself comfortable in the arms of an old friend, cooing softly as he found the perfect position.

"Sound like a good idea," Ash said as he got up. "I assume you're okay with Pikachu for a while?"

"It's no big deal, besides it looks like he enjoys the change of scenery."

Giving May an odd look Dawn grabbed Buneary before following the two of them out of the restaurant and off the ship. Motioning for her to fall back a bit, the two girls got a few paces behind Ash as to get some privacy.

"Are you really okay May?" Dawn asked in a worried tone.

"Really, I'm fine Dawn. You don't have to worry about me. Besides you have yourself to worry about right now, so try and focus on your goal." She responded with a weary smile.

Looking from May, to both of her passengers, and finally down to Buneary, Dawn decided that it was best just to let it drop. There was obviously something that May wasn't saying but didn't want to talk about, and she wasn't going to pressure her into telling. Though it was her actions with Pikachu and Eevee that brought the questions up again.

"_I thought that she said that Eevee only liked Pikachu as a brother, and yet she pulled the two of them together like that in her arms,"_ Dawn thought as they went to begin the process of checking out. _"Then again I could just be looking too far into it again. Eevee didn't even stay down with Pikachu when she had the chance. Is that her way of saying that Buneary is the one who gets him?"_

"Alright if there really is nothing bothering you I'll leave it at that. But remember, Ash isn't the only one you can come to for support."

"Thanks Dawn, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," May said as the blunette ran up to Ash's side and began a small conversation. "But I doubt that I could even bring this problem to you," she continued in only a whisper.

Looking back up at the two of them and seeing them both smile May once again felt a sharp pain in her chest. Resisting the urge to grab the spot she resorted to one again just taking several deep breaths. Both Pikachu and Eevee noticed the slight change and looked up at the coordinator, who just returned their looks with a half-hearted smile.

"_I'll just have to deal with it until I learn how to finally forget."_

_

* * *

  
_

And there ya go; as always reviews are welcome otherwise the next chapter will be up in a couple days.


	6. Arrival and the Start of Fun

As always thank you to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

"This is our hotel? Wow those tickets your mom won were far better than I thought."

Nearly dropping Buneary at the sight of their lodgings, Dawn could only stare at the hotel. Sure it wasn't as large as some of the high-rise ones in cities like Celadon or Lilycove but none of the buildings on this island seemed to be larger than a few stories anyways. Walking into it though was another story. Large crystal chandeliers and beautiful rugs on hardwood floors greeted them into the lobby. Nearly the entire place was covered in intricately carved exotic wood, clearly meant for the more well to do clientele.

"I feel so out of place," Ash murmured as he walked up to one of the pillars and traced his fingers along the many different carvings of flowers and ivy. "I would have been fine with just a simple twin bed with a bathroom."

"Oh you just need to get out more often," May said as she walked up to the front desk, Eevee and Pikachu still on her shoulders admiring the contents as much as their trainers were.

"And you come to these places often?"

"No, but some of the restaurants that my parents took Max and I to were like this."

"To live the life of luxury…"

"Oh be quiet."

"Welcome to the Aurora Borealis Hotel. Could I get your name please?"

Looking up at the desk attendant May nodded and handed over her ticket that Mrs. Ketchum gave her. "May Maple, I was told that there should be reservations for this."

"Ah yes I remember hearing about those," the attendant said taking the ticket from her. He was a young man, only in his mid twenties or so, but was dressed up in a full suit and his skin was a dark tan from living under the tropical sun. "And the other ticket?"

"Right here," Dawn spoke up handing over hers as well. "Don't you get warm wearing a suit in this weather?"

"As long as I don't walk outside with this thing on I'm fine. But they require us to wear these while on duty. It can be a real pain." Giving off a small sigh the man typed a few things into the computer before handing over a couple of plastic keycards. "These are the keycards to your room, our beachfront penthouse suite. It's right down that hallway to your left, about near the end."

"Beachfront penthouse!" Both girls cried out.

"But Mrs. Ketchum only said that it was a two bedroom suite," Dawn recalled.

"Our penthouse suites are the only ones with two private bedrooms per room. You're very lucky, that room is usually booked solid for most of the year. Feel free to call the front desk for anything that you may require. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."

Taking the cards and thanking the young man the three of them walked down the hall to find their room. After about a minute they found it and opened the door. As what would be expected with what they had seen so far, the room blew them away. A full kitchen off to the right as they entered and beyond that a large living room with several couches, a massive LCD TV, and one entire wall of windows looking out to the beach only several meters away.

"Oh my…wow." May was nearly speechless with the sight of everything. She had never been in a hotel room like this before. It definitely lived up to its title as the "beachfront penthouse".

"So Ash do you think you'll miss out on that room you wanted and suffer through sleeping in here?" She joked as the trainer was just as awed, but more at the TV than anything else.

"Uh-uh." It was closer to a grunt but one could barely make out the words as a small spot of droll made its way past his lips.

"Hey May come and check out the bedrooms!" Dawn called out from one of the side rooms. Giggling at Ash's reaction to seeing the room, May walked over the bedroom Dawn was in to find that they were just as impressive as the rest of the suite with a king-sized bed, a nearly matching TV like the one before, and even a spacious private bathroom with a whirlpool tub. "This is going to be one of the best vacations I've ever had!" The blunette squealed with delight before running and jumping onto her bed with Buneary not too far behind.

Heading over to her own room May dropped all of her things on the bed and admired the contents. It may have been virtually identical to Dawn's room but unlike Dawn's May had a full view of the beach, like the living room.

'I think that this should be good enough for us right now, don't you think you two?"

"Eevee," she said with a nod.

"Pika…" Her other passenger just seemed to be enjoying the view that this room sported.

"So let's go have some fun! But first…"

Grabbing her bathing suit from her pack May went into the bathroom to change. After getting into her new red bikini she grabbed some of her clothes to put on over it and headed back out into the living room. Sighing as she saw that Ash's eyes were still glued on the TV watching a rerun of the latest clip from the Indigo League tournament. Walking over to the other bedroom she knocked on the door. "Dawn, do you want to go down to the beach? No sense in staying in here when it's still such a nice day outside."

"Way ahead of you." She could hear from the other side of the door. Stepping out Dawn was obviously thinking along the same line that May was as she too was ready for the ocean, Buneary not far behind her. Still eyeing Pikachu and Eevee warily, but with May being the one who had them together there was nothing that the Normal-type could do in response.

"So should we get Ash to come along with us?" Dawn asked as she saw the trainer over on the couch. "Then again it might take a little bit to tear him away from that."

Walking over to him Dawn waved her hand in front of his face, trying to get a response. "Hey Ash did you want to go to the beach?"

"Yeah."

It may have been a response but appeared to be more of a reflex than an actual answer.

"So let's head out then."

"Yeah."

Getting a little annoyed at his impersonation of a broken record Dawn lost it for a second. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Yeah."

Rubbing her temples at the trainer's actions a smile crept over face as the thought of having a little fun with him crossed her mind. Seeing her smile May didn't like what she might be planning.

"Dawn…"

"Don't worry; I'm just going to play with him a little." Turning back to the seemingly brain-dead trainer Dawn thought up a few pieces to get him to agree with. "Okay Ash, would you mind buying me a whole new wardrobe today?"

"Yeah."

Faceplaming at Dawn's actions the brunette could only imagine what else she had in store.

"I'll make note of that for later," the blunette said with grin. "Alright then, would you mind giving me Pikachu for the whole day?"

At the sound of that question Pikachu instantly tensed up. Knowing what the result would be with his trainer in that state of mind he instantly wriggled his way out of May's grasp and tried to make his way to Ash before the response could be made, regrettably he was just a little too late.

"Yeah."

Tripping as soon as the answer escaped his mouth, Pikachu started to fear what that could mean.

"Thank you," Dawn happily stated as she picked up Pikachu along with Buneary. For the first time since they got to Pallet Town, Buneary was the one being pressed up against Pikachu with both of them in her trainer's arms. The Rabbit Pokémon was quick to capitalize on the situation and brushed herself right up next to Pikachu. Pikachu, who sadly felt like he had to continue with his trainer's command, did virtually nothing but let the Normal-type continue.

Watching from her own trainer's shoulder Eevee wasn't very happy with what the blue-haired devil just pulled. Staring at her rival the thought of what she wouldn't give to be in that position flashed for only a second before a smile crept over her face. It wasn't the first time that she was in that position but it was for Buneary. Sure one of those times he wasn't completely conscious but the other time she saw the look that he gave her after she willingly left him alone in May's arms. Curiosity was now what she was going for. If he was curious about something he would think about it more, and if she could keep him thinking more about her then Buneary she was already yet another step closer to the end. So to her losing this battle meant absolutely nothing, if anything she was actually winning it as she watched Pikachu's expression to the relative distance between the two of them grew even smaller. Besides she knew there was still one secret that would give her the final edge, and by the time Buneary would notice it, it would be too late.

The grin of Eevee's didn't escape the Rabbit Pokémon's notice. But without knowing what she was actually planning Buneary could only assume that her rival was bluffing. Gleefully she put the thought aside and just continued to enjoy the feel of Pikachu's body against hers, even right down to the tingling sensation as she touched his electric sacks. To her this was Pikachu's natural reaction to her and she took his willingness to stay there next to her as progress. Ever since she first laid eyes on him in Sinnoh she knew that this was one love that she wouldn't give up on. So every opportunity she got she would try to get close to the electric mouse, but for some reason the last few months she felt a bit stronger urge to succeed. Thinking that it could have been from her own trainer trying harder to get Ash's attention, Buneary was just glad that things were finally going her way. She was so close to her future mate while her own trainer was finding a mate of her own. And even May's interventions wouldn't be enough as they both had trainers willing to help them out.

"So you are now the proud owner of a new Pikachu," May sighed, taking a quick glance to see how Eevee was taking it. After seeing that she had no real problem May continued. "So what's next then? Are you going to actually ask what you really want?"

Watching Dawn turn a deep red color May couldn't help but smile, and yet at the same time regret those words for the same reason.

"Shh!" Dawn quickly tried to silence May, looking back at Ash who still hadn't taken his eyes off the TV. "Alright I've had my little bit of fun but I just want to go to the beach now."

"Don't worry Dawn this has happened before, though not to this extent. He gets an overload of Pokémon and blanks out to the rest of the world. There's only one good way to snap him out of it." May said as she calmly walked up to the unknowing trainer.

"And that would be?"

"This."

Grabbing him by the sweatshirt May forcibly yanked him off the couch and onto the floor, starting to pull him back away from the TV.

"Hey! What the…I was watching that!" Ash yelled out as he finally came to his senses.

"Yeah, I know; and that was the problem."

Dragging him into her room and leaving him there May closed the door right after tossing his backpack into the room as well.

"We're heading down to the beach and you're not going to sit in here and waste time by the TV," May said as she stood by the door.

"And if I said I still wanted to watch that?" Ash shouted back from the other side.

"Then you find your own room." After a moment of silence some shuffling could be heard along with undecipherable mumbling. "See? All better," May said while wiping her hands together.

Dawn and Buneary were wide eyed as to what just happened. She would never have expected the usually placid May to do something like that. Pikachu and Eevee on the other hand just shook their heads at the dense trainer.

"You said that this happened before?" Dawn finally asked as May came and sat down on the couch.

"Yep, right before we left for the Battle Frontier. Pretty much the exact same situation, except that it was at his house; we were already behind schedule and he wanted to finish the prelims for the Indigo League. The thing was that they had just started and would have been on for another five hours. The only response that we got out of him was 'Sure, when this is over'. So I finally got annoyed enough to start dragging him out of the house and if he wouldn't have gotten up I would have continued to drag him as far as I physically could. Of course with a TV this big it's obvious that there would be a bigger reaction. It was actually originally a trick that I picked up from Misty. Although this was only the second time I had to use it, it comes in handy when you do need it."

"_Guess there is still plenty more about Ash that I could learn about,"_ Dawn thought to herself looking back at May's room.

"You just have to be stern with him at times," May stated as she began to rub Eevee beneath the chin, as she did a caring smile made its way onto her face. "He may be a genius when it comes to Pokémon battles but there will always be a few places where he needs work. But then again nobody is perfect, and it's those imperfections that we come to love the most."

"Huh?"

Realizing what she just said May quickly tried to rephrase her last sentence. "I mean heck it's because of those imperfections that we are able to laugh right?"

"Um…yeah, right."

Focusing her attention back to Eevee, May quickly stopped talking as a slight blush formed across her face. Dawn couldn't help but find not only her comment but her actions a bit odd.

"_I don't want to doubt May, but is she really over Ash? No, you need to stop thinking that. She's helping you after all, feeling that way will only make you ungrateful for what she is doing for us. But she has been acting increasingly weird these last couple days. I can only hope that I am wrong. I don't want to have to compete against my friend for a boy we both like if I don't have to."_

"_What is wrong with me?"_ May asked herself as she lost herself in petting Eevee. _"Something like that shouldn't be coming out. Yes I like Ash as a friend and probably still have a bit of a crush on him but I shouldn't be using the word _love _when talking about him, especially around Dawn. So much for learning to forget, let's just hope that the rest of today goes better."_

Finally hearing the door to the bedroom open both girls looked up to see Ash walk out in a black t-shirt and black swimming trunks with yellow stripes, almost as the opposite of Pikachu's fur.

"Fine I'll go along with you. I'll just have to find those clips later," he muttered as he slumped down onto the couch next to May. Looking up he saw something that hadn't happened since he was still in Sinnoh. "Dawn is there a reason that you have Pikachu?"

"Of course, he's mine now," she said with a big grin.

"What!" That caught his attention real fast. "What do you mean he's yours now?"

"Well just a few minutes ago I asked if I could have him, your exact response was 'yeah'."

"I did? Oh come on Dawn I must not have even been thinking. Are you really going to hold me to something that I don't even remember?" Ash pleaded with the blunette.

"That depends."

"Depends on what?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You treat us to a meal tonight, my choosing."

"Deal."

"But in the meantime I think that he'll be just fine with me. Oh and you owe me a new wardrobe."

"What?!" He yelled even louder than the last.

"You agreed to it, it's not my fault," Dawn told him innocently with a playful smile on her face.

Sighing as to his own carelessness Ash looked longingly back at the TV. "So are we actually going go down to the beach or would it be possible to…" Catching May's glare Ash stopped his sentence cold. "Or not."

After bringing the subdued trainer with them the three friends opened up their sliding glass door and stepped out onto the boardwalk. Seeing the crowded beach right before them it didn't take long for the two girls to drop their outer clothes and rush out into the water. Sighing slightly Ash took one last look at the large screen before closing the door and walking out with his friends, though the thoughts of a bit of revenge against the one who literally dragged him away from the electronic entertainment were already circulating in his head.

"_Hey what's a vacation without some fun?"_ He thought as he walked a bit further down the beach, a mischievous grin on his face.

* * *

As soon as Dawn got into the water Pikachu immediately tried to squirm his way up and out of her arms. Knowing that water and electricity don't mix well he didn't want to take any chances.

"Huh? What are you doing up there Pikachu?" Dawn asked as he finally made his way up to the top of her head.

Not even bothering to answer the coordinator, he attempted to jump back onto dry land. Barely making it he walked the last bit shaking his feet off as he got onto shore. Watching to see if anyone followed him the Electric-type quickly dashed over to the resort's beach umbrellas that held the girl's clothes, trying to keep his sensitive feet off of the hot sand a much as possible. Plopping himself down underneath the shade he relaxed into the now lukewarm sand, enjoying the feel as it molded to his body. Seeing that neither Eevee nor Buneary followed him the Pokémon felt like he could truly relax for a while without at least one of them staring down his throat. Though that notion brought back thoughts of his last real interaction with Eevee. He still couldn't figure out exactly why she did that, and yet at the same time there was something inside him continuing to tell him that she had not given up the fight even if everything else appeared to say that she did. That was entirely different from how Buneary was acting around him, whose intentions were completely obvious to even the casual observer.

Of course there was also another thing that bothered him, why was she the only one who could sneak up on him without him noticing? Anyone else he could hear or at least smell them coming, but not only was she as silent as a Noctowl but he stopped being able to catch her scent as she grew older. Even if she was right next to him he could barely even smell anything, and even then it barely smelled like anything at all. No, there _was_ something he could smell as of late. It was faint but there was something about it that he liked, and yet it wasn't the same smell that he remembered from long ago. Try as he might it was these same thoughts that kept coming back to him. There was only one thing that finally caught his attention enough to clear his mind of those questions, looking around he couldn't find his trainer anywhere.

* * *

"So May why do you think Pikachu left like that?" Dawn asked as she watched the yellow mouse lay down in the shade of the umbrella.

"He's probably a little water shy," May answered as she watched the same scene. "He is an electric Pokémon after all."

"True."

Buneary and Eevee also watched as the Mouse Pokémon made his way over but quickly turned their focus onto the other to see if they would do anything. Seeing that neither was making a move they decided to leave it at that, completely neutral to both sides. Although unbeknownst to Buneary even if she made a move Eevee more than likely wouldn't react. The way she saw it, every time Buneary got closer to Pikachu she was only pushing him away. She on the other hand would just bide her time and when the time was right, Pikachu would come to her.

"So do you want to go out a bit deeper?"

"Why not? Buneary you might want to get up a little higher if you don't want to get wet," Dawn said to the Pokémon in her arms.

"You too Eevee."

Climbing up onto their trainer's heads the two Pokémon took one last look at each other before gazing out into the vast ocean. It was quite a sight with the clear blue sky and nothing but water in virtually every angle.

Smiling at seeing their Pokémon's reactions May and Dawn headed out into deeper water. Getting to the point where the water was already up to their chest.

"If I didn't have Eevee with me it would be nice to just lie back for a while and float here."

"Yeah I know what you mean. Or even get one of those inflatable lounge chairs and drift for hours."

"Vee."

"Bun."

For once the two Normal-types could actually agree with something. While their trainers might have preferred to be alone, both of them were relaxing quite contently on their perches. Eevee having a bit easier of a time than Buneary due to her size and the fact that this was her second favorite spot as they traveled, but nonetheless they were both enjoying the sights and smells of the sun and surf.

"Ash doesn't know what he's missing."

At the sound of the trainer's name Dawn looked around the beach. "Speaking of which where is he?"

Noticing that they hadn't seen him ever since they left the hotel May also took a look around. "Good question. He better not be back inside…" But a careful look through their windows showed that the TV was still off and nobody was there. "Well that's odd, where he could have run off to?"

All of a sudden May could feel a slight tugging at her ankles but before she could even look down, her grip on the ground below was cut away and there was only an instant to take a gasp of air before she went under, taking a surprised Eevee along with her.

* * *

I kinda feel that this is going a bit slow but I've never really done a story along these lines before so I'm not really sure of the pace, but as long as you guys are fine with it then it will continue for a little while. At least in a few chapters it'll definitely bring everyone back in.

And even though it only has a limited affect on the story I do have my reasons for Pikachu not being able to smell Eevee. I won't bore everyone with my reasoning but if you are interested just ask. Otherwise thanks for reading and I hope to see you back here in a couple days for the next chapter.


	7. Revenge is Best Served Cold and Wet

Welcome to chapter seven. As always I thank those of you who read and/or reviewed last chapter. But I have a small announcement at the end of the chapter, but otherwise enjoy.

* * *

"May!" Dawn called out as she saw her friend go down. Even Buneary looked a little worried about what just happened as she looked where May just was.

Only a second or two later the brunette came back up gasping for air, Eevee not far behind, but already starting to swim for shore.

"May what happened?" Dawn asked as she walked over. But May wasn't even paying attention to the other coordinator; she was busy searching the water for something.

"Ash," she started in a sing-song voice. "I know you're down there. And when I get my hands on you…" She just let it hang.

"All the more reason to stay away."

Turning around quickly the two girls noticed Ash standing on the far side of Dawn, a large grin on his face.

"That was payback for dragging me away from the TV, quite literally in fact."

"Come on Ash," May said in as sweet a voice as possible as she started to walk towards him. "I just want to apologize for my actions earlier."

Unfortunately Ash noticed that there was more to that tone of voice than just innocence.

"Like hell you do," he got out right as he dodged her lunge at him.

Too bad for the trainer, besides that one miss, things weren't starting out too well for him that day. As he dodged May's grab he accidentally splashed a large amount of water up onto Dawn and Buneary, completely messing up their hair and fur respectively.

"Uh-oh." Now looking at two very annoyed girls and one annoyed Pokémon Ash only continued to back away.

"What was that comment you made a couple days ago Ash? Something along the lines of 'A girl's hair is her life'?" Dawn asked him in the same ever so sweet voice that May just used.

May recognized that line instantly, and it struck her odd that he would remember something like that, but there were bigger issues at the moment she decided turning back to the poor trainer.

"Um…yeah, I think it was something like that."

"And would you happen to remember the second part of it?"

"It kinda slipped my mind at the moment," he said with a nervous laugh. Of course the truth was he remembered every word, he just didn't want to give them any ideas if he didn't have to.

"Well then let us re-enlighten you, May?"

Clearing her throat a bit May looked back at the trainer with the same smile she had on right after he dipped her underwater. "Let's see how did it go again, oh yeah. 'A girl's hair is her life, so don't even think about messing with it!'"

Quickly looking over the three there, Ash saw that each one of their hair was a complete mess. Gulping he could only continue to back away slowly.

"And if I remember correctly it was this same issue of you and Max splashing water onto me that I said it in the first place," May continued. "You thought that I was joking."

"But when there is a reason it is closer to a true threat," Dawn finished up for May.

Seeing the sickeningly sweet smiles grow onto both of their faces once again Ash decided that it was now or never. Turning around he tried to make his escape into deeper water, but was caught by four surprisingly strong arms before he could go anywhere.

* * *

Back on shore Eevee was just making her way out of the water. While she didn't mind a dip in a lake or river, the sea water had always annoyed her as the salt was a pain to get out of her fur. Of course May would always happily wash her afterwards, and Eevee was always fond of getting a bath, until that moment came it was a nightmare.

Looking up she saw Pikachu not but a few meters from where she stood, laughing his hardest after seeing what Ash did to her and her trainer. Frowning at the greeting she got, Eevee calmly walked up underneath the umbrella and then proceeded to shake off all the extra water, making sure that in the process she soaked the mouse in just as much water as she had just been.

As soon as she had started to walk up to him, Pikachu had thoughts of stopping and possibly apologizing but found that he couldn't help it, at least not until she drenched him in the same water that he was trying to avoid. Glaring at the Evolution Pokémon he saw that she had nothing but a playful smile on her face as she began to laugh as their positions were reversed in an instant.

The slight bit of animosity that he had felt for her just a moment ago lifted as he watched her laugh, and it wasn't long before he joined in as well. After a couple minutes they both finally calmed down before laying into the sand to let it dry the rest of their bodies. Yet he found that it was him that walked up closer to her before returning to his sunbathing, not yet close enough to be touching but it was close enough for both of them to feel comfortable.

As he lay down that same smell that he noticed earlier once again greeted his nose past the distinct scent of the sea water, this time a little stronger than the last. And once again it was a smell that he couldn't identify but at the same time, deep down something recognized it and was enjoying it.

* * *

For Ash, the moment was a bit different from his partner's. After his failed attempt to get away from the coordinators it didn't take long for him to receive the same treatment that he just gave May. Except for him there were two girls that were trying to keep him under.

As Ash came up just after being dunked he saw both Dawn and May laughing quite hard. Buneary had apparently headed back for shore, leaving the three humans alone.

"So that's how you want to play it, huh?" Ash said as he started to chuckle a bit as well.

Noticing that the two of them were separated slightly, the trainer took the opportunity to make it a one-on-one fight again. Using his arm Ash created a small wave and aimed it at Dawn.

Still laughing even after getting splashed again, her hair already ruined anyways, Dawn cleared her eyes looking around for Ash.

"Where did he go?"

Noticing a shape moving underwater, both of them saw where he was headed. May tried to brace herself from being tripped again but it wasn't just dunking her that Ash had in mind. Instead of the sudden immersion in water that May was expecting she felt herself lifted clear out of the water.

"Hey, what the? Ash!"

With one arm under her knees and the other on her back, by the time Ash surfaced he looked as if he was carrying May bridal style. For a split second the position that she was in made May turn a light shade of pink, but it didn't last long. Exhaling sharply Ash then continued to lift her up almost past his head before tossing her several meters away into the deep water.

"Ash!" She screamed as she flew through the air hitting the water with a large splash.

Laughing at the scene, Ash watched as May surfaced while treading water. She on the other hand found herself somewhat speechless after Ash had lifted her up like that. But it ended quickly as the rest of the moment started to catch up to her. Seeing Dawn making a move behind Ash, May took a deep breath and went under to get closer to them, a big smile on her face the whole time.

"Got ya!" Dawn yelled as she jumped onto Ash's back.

"Oh do you now?"

Dropping himself back down Ash used the surprise to get Dawn off of him and around in front. It didn't take the blunette long to know what was coming next.

Surfacing again Ash once again repeated his actions sending Dawn flying even further than May.

"And there goes number two," he stated proudly.

"But you're forgetting that number one is still here."

Before he could even turn around May had jumped onto his back as Dawn had done, but she made sure to get a good grip and learn from what happened to the other coordinator.

"Oh come on May. I've done this once before and I can do it again." Dropping below he tried to maneuver May into a position where he could throw her again, but the brunette made sure to keep her spot on his back.

Surfacing after being thrown Dawn looked around for Ash and May. It didn't take long for them to surface as well, May still on Ash's back and both of them laughing. Dawn couldn't help but feel jealous of seeing the two of them like that.

"_Sure I was in virtually the same position just a few seconds ago but this looks and feels so different than when I was there."_ Continuing to watch the two as Ash tried again and again to get her off of his back Dawn couldn't help but notice that May's mood had changed since this morning. She was so depressed after she woke up and yet now you could never tell that the girl ever had a sad moment in her life. It was at that moment that Dawn finally made up her mind. _"I'm very sorry May, but even if you consider Ash as nothing more than a great friend I don't think that I can continue to think of you as no competition for his heart. Even if you aren't after it he might be after yours. I still don't want to feel ungrateful for the help that you are giving but I will no longer just brush that fact aside. I will welcome any help that you give but…"_

"Hey Dawn we're heading back to shore!" May called out, currently off of Ash who had a disappointed yet still happy look on his face. "You coming or are you going to stay out for a while longer?"

"I'm coming!" She called back.

"_I really am sorry May,"_ Dawn thought as she watched her two friends walk back. _"But I just can't take any more chances."_

_

* * *

  
_

Stepping back onshore, Ash and May were just finally calming down after the fun that they had in the water. Walking over to their umbrella to grab her things May found quite the sight with the three Pokémon that were waiting for them. Buneary had apparently noticed at least part of the little interaction that Pikachu and Eevee had just prior to her joining them, because she was laying in between the two of them glaring at the Evolution Pokémon ever so often while trying to stay as close as possible to Pikachu. He on the other hand was also looking over at Eevee every once and a while but more as if she would be the one to save him from part of this problem. Sadly for both of them the Evolution Pokémon didn't notice a single one of their glances as she was fast asleep, a big smile still present on her face.

"Aw, isn't that cute," May said as she walked over and picked up Eevee. "Alright Eevee time to get up, you probably want me to rinse you off anyways before we head out shopping."

Giving off a big yawn the little Pokémon snuggled into her trainer's arms just as Dawn came in to pick up Buneary and Pikachu. Seeing the blue-haired devil do that barely bothered Eevee, with the exception of a few tinges of jealously. She just gave another big smile before relaxing again into May's arms. In those few minutes when Buneary wasn't with them she had gained more for herself than Buneary had these last few days. Eevee now knew that her choice of plans was the correct one and with that knowledge she felt as though she had little to worry about beyond making sure that Pikachu's actions didn't really change while she was next to her rival.

It was Buneary that was really getting confused at this point. Has that Eevee got absolutely nuts? Just a couple of days ago she was growling and ready to bite her throat out when she even got close to Pikachu, but now even after seeing herself and the Electric-type pulled together like this she just smiles and falls asleep. Buneary couldn't bring herself to believe May's statement about Eevee only liking Pikachu as a brother so why was she acting like that? Last time Buneary had just brushed it aside as a bluff but twice in a row? Snuggling up in her own trainer's arms along with Pikachu she knew now that there was more to Eevee than she had originally expected, but exactly what else was there?

For the third one involved, Pikachu at that moment couldn't care less about Eevee's smile or her falling asleep as if nothing was happening. Like his trainer at times, Pikachu didn't like other people this close to him without his permission. Knowing that she would be no help he looked expectantly back at his trainer, silently pleading to be taken back.

"Sorry Pikachu, but there really isn't anything I can do for you," Ash told his Pokémon after catching his eyes. "It's only til' the end of the day."

Knowing that this was the truth the poor Pokémon could once again only endure the uneasiness he felt being this close to another Pokémon. Or at least one that insisted on rubbing his electric sacks for some reason…

* * *

"Well you seem to be in a happy mood," May said as she rinsed down her partner.

After they had gotten back into their room Dawn and May had both retired to their bedrooms to take care of a few things before they went shopping for the afternoon. May was currently sitting in the whirlpool tub with her bathing suit still on and the extendable showerhead in one of her hands, making sure to get all the salt out of Eevee's fur.

"Vee!" The little Pokémon replied while enjoying the feel of the warm water running through her coat. It may not have been a full bath but it was close enough for now.

"Glad to hear it. I've been a little worried with Dawn playing that trick on Ash and keeping Buneary and Pikachu together, but you don't seem to be all that worried."

"Eevee…"

Laughing at her response May figured that she had washed her enough, and after a quick rinse-off for herself grabbed a towel to dry them both off.

"I'm just worried that Dawn might have figured out that I'm not helping Buneary as well. I never did tell her, but then again some things are just best left unsaid right?"

"_Even if that isn't the only thing under that category,"_ she added thinking back to the fun that they just had. _"Too bad that I won't be able to do too many things like that after they get together. It would look bad for somebody else's boyfriend doing that to a girl."_

Shaking those thoughts from her head May grabbed a light set of clothes, just enough to modestly cover up her bikini, and her pack before heading out into the living room with Eevee on her shoulder again.

Noticing that Pikachu was back on Ash's lap, May could only assume that Dawn had decided to keep him out of the room while she and Buneary were taking care of their own business. What kind of surprised her was that Ash was just sitting on the couch relaxing while stroking Pikachu, no TV at all.

"What no Pokémon League?" She teased him as she sat down on one of the chairs.

Opening his eyes slightly to look at her he closed them again before giving his response. "If I turned it back on I would just be dragged away from them in a few minutes anyways. Besides, they are almost over by this time."

"Oh don't be so bitter about it, you enjoyed being out there right?"

"Don't worry it has nothing to do with me being bitter or anything. I had my revenge for that, remember?"

"All too well," May responded with a small smile. "So then why sit out here in complete silence?"

"Well that's because…" He paused while opening his eyes to look at her; giving off a small chuckle he laid his head back before continuing. "Let's just say that I have a lot on my mind and needed some time to think. But otherwise you seem to be doing better."

"What do you mean?"

"From this morning, you seemed so gloomy then but now you are back to your normal self. You know you look far better when you're smiling."

May's eyes went wide at his comment but before she could even respond the door to Dawn's room opened up and revealed the coordinator and her Pokémon in similar attire to May's.

"So who's ready to go shopping?" She asked, completely oblivious as to what had just transpired.

"Sure!" May quickly said getting up and heading for the door, still not completely sure how to take Ash's words, or even if she heard them correctly or not.

"She seems rather eager," Dawn stated, watching the brunette exit through the sliding glass door. "But then again who can resist shopping?"

"I can."

Looking down that the apathetic trainer who still had barely opened his eyes Dawn's face instantly fell into a frown, of course it turned around rather quickly when she remembered a little fact that had conspired that day.

"Too bad for you but this is another trip where you won't be able to get away from."

"And why is that? I went swimming with you guys and I'm currently just willing to sit here, without the TV mind you, and relax for a little while longer. This is more of what I consider a vacation compared to going shopping for many new sets of useless clothes."

"Ironic that you mentioned that Ash cause you are forgetting a key piece of information."

"And that would be?"

"You promised me a brand new wardrobe."

Ash cringed at the thought as soon as he remembered. "Oh my poor wallet and back."

"What do you mean 'your poor back'?"

"Cause I'm going to be the one carrying everything," he stated with a sigh. "Come on Dawn please just let me pay for only 50% of everything. I wasn't even completely aware of what you were saying."

Dawn tried to keep herself from laughing but in the end couldn't completely hold it in and quickly burst into an all out spree.

"What's to laugh about? I don't have enough money to completely fund part of one of your shopping sprees, let alone an entire one, and really only have enough for myself. There are things that I want to get as well you know."

"Oh that's not what I'm laughing at Ash," Dawn got out before finally calming down. "It's you I'm laughing at. Did you really think that I would make you pay for an entire new wardrobe for me?"

His face fell as soon as he heard those words. "You mean…"

"I was just pulling your leg," she finally said. "Although you did willingly say that you would pay for half of everything that I bought."

"Dawn, please…" The trainer begged as the fear came back into his eyes.

"I know I know, I'm just joking. But I'm still holding you to the dinner."

"Compared to the thousands that I would be spending on your sprees I'll deal with that just fine."

"I don't spend thousands while out shopping for clothes, thank you very much. Well except for that one time, but that's beside the point." Waving off the topic Dawn brought back something that she noticed him spill just a moment ago. "So you said that you were planning on buying something as well huh? So is this for someone besides yourself?"

"Well…"

"So it is," she said with a sly smile. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Um, I think we can head out now," Ash replied nervously. "May is probably waiting for us."

"I guess you're right."

Heading out to find May the two of them closed the door behind them and stepped out onto the boardwalk.

"_So he's buying something for someone. I can only hope it would be for me but then again that could also just be wishful thinking. I guess we'll just have to find out."_

It didn't take the two of them long to find May who was almost wandering aimlessly down the boardwalk, watching the various beachgoers and tourists.

"Hey May we're heading into town!" Dawn called out as they got close enough.

Waving to signal that she heard them May ran up to her friends as they headed away from the beach and towards the shopping district.

* * *

Well here's that announcement that I promised. I am very sorry to say this but I will not be able to update as per my usual schedule for a little while due to the upcoming Fourth of July/Independence Day weekend. While holidays haven't stopped me before, the lack of internet up at our cabin kinda does. I'll be sure to update as soon as I get back, which by the looks of it would be Sunday afternoon or evening for those living in North America. Again I apologize for the delay.

Otherwise I hope that you liked the chapter. I'll be sure to have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Until then, please review and for those in the U.S. have a great Fourth of July.


	8. Just Another Form of Torture

Sorry about the delay, we stayed a day longer than expected due to the great weather. Gotta love Minnesota, lower temperatures and more snow than many can imagine in the winter and a more direct solar rays than the tropics in the summer. Good thing that I really only burn on my face and shoulders, too bad those are some of the worst places as well. But that's enough about me, you guys just care about the next chapter. Without any further delay here's chapter eight.

* * *

"Not again…" Ash moaned as Dawn brought him into yet another store. Sitting down on some chairs situated near the entrance he put down several bags that Dawn had already bought.

"Oh come on Ash it's only the third store we've been in," the blunette said as she started to look around the different racks.

"Yeah and I still don't completely understand the reason for the second one."

"Don't worry Ash we'll only go to a few more before heading out to go eat," May consoled him. "Besides at least Dawn is letting you keep Pikachu during this time instead of keeping him as per your deal."

"The company is nice I guess," he said while looking down at his content partner.

"Well if that's how you want to look at it, here, you can have Eevee for a while too."

Happily accepting her trainer's offer Eevee jumped down and climbed up onto Ash's shoulder, all the while Pikachu watched her from his Pikapi's arms. Though it wasn't the same kind of look that he was giving her while everyone was still in Pallet, by this point the fear he had around her while she was in a good mood was nearly gone. Mostly due to the fact that even if she was in a good mood she wasn't causing him nearly as much trouble as she used to.

"You sure about that May? Besides you know how skittish Pikachu can get around her." Yet even as he said this Ash noticed that Pikachu actually seemed rather calm.

"Oh I don't think that you need to worry about that one anymore. Besides she would probably rather just sit here with you instead of coming with me to look at all of the different clothes. Right?"

"Vee," she responded with a nod.

"If you say so."

"Okay then I'll be off joining Dawn. You can just sit here until then."

Walking off May could only smile while taking one last look at Ash with both Pikachu and Eevee. The latter had already made herself comfortable on his shoulder and continuously watched the patrons coming in and out of the store, only every once and a while looking down at the true reason that May left her there. Pikachu also seemed rather content with everything. After first watching Eevee climb her way up to Ash's shoulder he relaxed instantly back into Ash's lap without so much as a second thought.

"_I wonder exactly why Eevee hasn't been trying to make a move on Pikachu yet, especially with what Dawn was trying to pull with getting him for the day. But even when she was holding both Pikachu and Buneary together Eevee barely even batted an eye. She really seems confident that she won't have any problem with getting him to notice her. It almost seems the same with Dawn and Ash, they have been getting along pretty well so far with the boat trip and everything but beyond that there really hasn't been much else. Oh well there is still plenty of time left for that."_

"So May what were you talking to Ash about?"

Jumping slightly, May was snapped out of her personal mindscape and back into the real world at the sound of Dawn's question.

"Oh I was just giving him Eevee to hold on to while we were out here. He said that he liked having Pikachu as company while we were shopping so I thought the more the merrier. Besides Eevee doesn't like to come with me at times like these, so I figured why not?"

Of course the last part was a complete lie, Eevee loved to go anywhere May would go no matter what the circumstances, but telling Dawn the real reason might have been a bit too much for the situation.

"Okay..." Looking from the brunette and back to Ash, Dawn couldn't help but find Pikachu rather content even with Eevee that close. Much different as to how she had seen them react before. "You know I've noticed that Eevee has been acting a bit different around Pikachu, even since just a couple days ago. Did something happen between them?"

"Not that I know of," May lied again. "But this is how they usually are once Eevee calms down. It's when she is overactive that Pikachu gets a bit scared of her and runs away. Most of the time they are just simply like that. Even though it may not look it at times those two really are the best of friends, much like their trainers." Although she wasn't trying May could feel a bit of sadness come out with her last comment.

"May you okay?"

Snapping out of it yet again the Hoenn native just smiled at her friend. "Yeah I'm fine. Just trying to figure out another way to help get you and Ash together. Normally a shopping trip would be a good way to bond but there wouldn't really be a good reason for me to all of a sudden disappear from the picture for a while." May found it hard to keep her voice from cracking as she said the last bit, the idea almost too hard to think about.

"I'm glad that you are willing to help me but you don't really have to go to those lengths for me like that. Besides if Eevee really doesn't like Pikachu in that way it will be a little easier once Buneary finally wins him over. Either that or vice versa."

"Yep like Pokémon like trainer right?" May replied with a nervous laugh.

"Exactly. So what do you think of this?" She asked holding up a light green blouse.

"Yuck, definitely not."

"Yeah I kinda thought so as well. Even though there's a lot on sale here I haven't really seen anything worth buying. How about we go and try another store?"

"Sure, why not? I really haven't seen anything that I would buy either; even if I haven't been looking as long as you have I can see that much from just looking around. Besides there are plenty of stores around here to check out, but what about Ash?"

"Huh? What about him?"

"He's never been one for shopping so is there a reason that we are still dragging him along?"

"Don't worry May it'll only be another hour or something before we end and head out to go eat. He wouldn't forgive us if we did that while leaving him at the hotel."

"Good point."

The two girls laughed while putting the clothes that they grabbed back onto the racks. Walking back towards Ash, he appeared to be quite content just sitting there along with the two Pokémon, one curled up on his shoulder while the other relaxed in his lap. Of course the sudden reappearance of the girls caused a large sigh to come from him.

"We're leaving already? You just got here, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this but, couldn't we stay just a bit longer?" The trainer asked. "I'm up for sightseeing and everything but moving from one store to the next isn't what I would count as such."

"It's no big deal Ash," Dawn stated as she pulled him up by the hand. "Besides in another hour or so we can go and eat. Here, I'll take Pikachu from you so you don't have to worry about him in the mean time," she said as she took the yellow mouse into her own arms, Buneary looking quite happy with the results while Eevee only eyed the action with limited interest.

"Um, thanks," Ash said hesitantly as he looked back at the bags. Sighing yet again he just grabbed them all and stood up, stretching slightly as well.

"And you can probably give Eevee back to May. She more than likely would rather be with her trainer."

"Okay…well here ya go May. Thanks for letting her keep me company, even if it was only for a few minutes."

"No problem Ash," May told him while taking her from the trainer.

Although both Ash and May were wondering why Dawn said that almost out of the blue, May was the one with a closer idea as to why. The brunette figured that it was mostly done for Buneary's sake of getting together with Pikachu but that was only part of it.

"_I don't want to have to do this but like I said considering our circumstances I can't be taking any chances. With Eevee next to him I can't get Ash to focus only on me and not think of May as well,"_ Dawn thought as she saw Ash hand over the Evolution Pokémon. "_I just can't get rid of that sour feeling after doing it though. It just feels as though I'm betraying her after all the help that she is trying to give me."_

"So let's head out, the next shop is already waiting for us," the blunette stated, happily grabbing Ash's hand after he got hold of the bags and started to lead him out onto the street.

Walking about a couple meters behind the apparently happy couple, May couldn't help but feel both happy for them but also the chest pains that had been coming more often as of late.

"It truly has become bittersweet to see them together Eevee," she said to her partner who had returned to her place on her trainer's shoulder. "It's taking all I have to keep myself from saying anything out loud when I see them like that. I would just feel as if I'd betray my own friend by trying to get in-between the two of them. From everything that I have seen it can only be assumed that they look like a young couple in love. Even though I haven't really done all that much in helping those two get together just giving them time alone like that has apparently done wonders."

"Vee…" The little Pokémon could only look down as a lone tear made its way down May's face. Rubbing her face against her trainer's, Eevee once again tried to console the confused brunette.

Smiling and rubbing Eevee between the ears far a couple seconds May wiped away the tear and hurried up to meet with her friends.

"Ooh, this one looks like the perfect one to check out next!" Dawn exclaimed just as May caught up with the two. "Come on, the sales await us!"

Moaning as he was dragged into yet another clothing store it was something else that caught his eye, a different shop across the street. But before he got too long of a look at it Dawn was already dragging him into the store.

May caught Ash's glance and followed his eyes to see a few stores in operation on the other side of the street. She could only wonder which one of them had gotten his interest until she noticed what the stores actually were; all but one were just like the ones that he was being brought into by Dawn for the past couple hours, a jewelry store.

"_Why would Ash be interested in some place like that?"_ May wondered as she entered the store as well.

* * *

"Finally," Ash gasped as he set all of Dawn and May's bags on the floor of their hotel room.

"While it was nice of you to carry our bags for us they couldn't have been that heavy," Dawn commented as she sat down on the couch.

"You try carrying that many next time," he commented, trying to ignore the seemingly ungrateful coordinator's comment.

"Are you kidding? I'd break my back."

Ash just stared at the coordinator who apparently didn't even catch the reasoning as to why. Not believing that his friend actually said that he looked over at May who was just sitting on the other couch petting Eevee. She hadn't said a word their entire trip back.

"May what's wrong? You seemed fine when we first started but now you're back to being all gloomy and quiet."

"No I'm not" she defended herself, even when she knew it was the truth. The reason that she hadn't said anything was because of the fact that almost every chance she got outside of shopping, Dawn was trying to get even closer to Ash, most of the times holding his hand as they continued on to a different shop. The more May saw it the less bittersweet the moment became and the more depressed she felt.

Thinking a bit Ash got an idea. "Hey May how about we have a battle?"

While that word was innocent enough for the humans all three Pokémon accompanying them instantly caught it.

"Huh? A battle?"

"Sure, just a quick one before we go out to eat. I still have to make up for that loss a couple days ago. And to be fair we'll only use the Pokémon that we have here."

"No offence Ash but that would make it Pikachu versus Eevee," Dawn spoke up, wondering where this seemingly random thought came up from. "Even under the best of circumstances it wouldn't be a fair fight. And again no offence meant to May or Eevee, but I doubt that they would last long against you guys."

"It was just an offer," Ash countered before looking back at May with his trademark smile. "Well?"

The coordinator could barely believe what she was hearing, but it wasn't just the idea of battling Ash again that was playing through her head at that moment. Looking down at the Pokémon in her lap May knew that she had more at stake here than almost anyone.

Looking back at her trainer Eevee also had a questionable look on her face. A battle against Pikachu was the exact opposite of what she was planning. While there was no doubt that she could gain much in the battle she could also lose everything. And the worst part was the only one who could predict Pikachu's opinion would be Pikachu himself. If she won he could be extremely impressed or he could easily resent her for it. And if she lost the reverse could just as easily be true.

The exact same thoughts were running through Buneary's mind as well, trying to figure out if she should be supportive of the battle or be against it.

Of course May figured that much out as well, and she wouldn't do anything that Eevee would not want to do, but above all else she wanted to help her partner and even if it was risky this was a good way to do so. She just needed to figure out how.

After some time had passed an idea finally came to her.

"One second Ash, I just have to talk to Eevee first."

"Okay…sure."

Taking Eevee into her room May closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed, setting the Pokémon next to her.

"Alright I know that you are probably apprehensive about this battle too, but I think that I have a way to help."

"Vee?" The small Pokémon asked while cocking her head a bit.

"Don't worry I won't do anything that you wouldn't want to do, I promise that much. The only thing I have to ask is if you trust me for this."

Eevee almost laughed at the thought, trust was never a question between them. In the contest ring Eevee knew that May held much more than just her safety on the line, and not only that but Eevee would risk, if not give, her life for her trainer; and knew that the same was true for May. The fact that she was asking just proved how much May actually cared for her.

"Eevee," she finally nodded.

"Alright then here's my plan," May started as she bent down to Eevee's ear and started to whisper into it. The little Pokémon's eyes widened as she heard what her trainer had planned.

"So how about it?" May finally asked.

"Vui!"

"Glad you like it. I know that there are two trump cards that we have to play but it should work. And I know that one of them has already been taking some affect on Pikachu."

The fox nearly blushed at the thought that her trainer actually knew something like that about her, but then again considering that she was her trainer it shouldn't be that hard to know why.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'll tell anyone. That's something between just you and him," May giggled at seeing her reaction. "I figured that there was probably a good reason as to why you all of a sudden chose to go after Pikachu now of all times, you just need to make sure that he is the only one who tries to come after you. So are you ready?"

"Vee!"

Smiling at her Pokémon's reaction May opened the door and walked out with Eevee close behind. Looking up at them both Ash and Dawn were obviously wondering what her answer would be.

"Alright Ash, we agree to the battle," May stated proudly. "Under one condition, seeing as how you are already buying dinner for us tonight let's put it up that the loser buys dessert for everyone on top of it."

Ash's face grew a wide smile. "Great! I see no problem in that. Now I saw a clearing not far from here that we could use."

* * *

Sure enough it didn't take all that long for the three of them and their Pokémon to reach the spot that he was talking about. With May on one side of the field and Ash on the other, both looked ready to battle. Besides those two and Eevee, everyone else at the field was questioning the very idea for the battle.

"Hey Dawn I know you aren't really officially qualified to do this but could you ref the battle for us?"

"Um, sure Ash," Dawn hesitantly replied looking between her two friends.

"And are you ready Pikachu?" Ash quietly asked his partner.

"Pika…" Looking over at his opponent Pikachu was wondering what the heck was going through his trainer's mind. Even if his Pikapi had no clue about the reasons as to why Eevee and Buneary were acting odd towards him the idea of fighting a battle with a friend like this was always hard on the small Pokémon, especially one that he at one point considered to be under his watchful eye every since she was born, just like Togepi.

"Come on Pikachu this is just for fun," Ash whispered to his partner. "I'm not going to ask you to go all out on Eevee. May has been acting weird and gloomy lately so I just wanted to cheer her up a bit and after I thought of what usually cheers me up I figured that it would work for her as well."

Finally understanding the reasoning Pikachu actually facepalmed at his trainer's reasoning. While Pikapi's heart was in the right place as to the reason why, the method was way off, even he knew that much. But if this was the reason that his Pikapi was asking to battle it would be rude of him to turn it down.

Giving of a small sigh he jumped off of his perch and walked up near the center of the battlefield just as Eevee did the same. As they met in the middle Pikachu was still a little worried about what might happen, not only to Eevee but also with his problems involving both her and Buneary. Eevee on the other hand was still as happy and energetic as she usually looked, almost as if she didn't have a care in the world. The prospect of him hurting her during this battle once again passed through his mind and he silently shuddered at the thought.

"Are both trainers ready?" Dawn asked looking from one to the other.

"Ready," they both replied, confidence evident in each of their voices.

On the field Pikachu got into his usual pre-battle stance; head low to the ground, tail raised high, and sparks flying from his cheeks. But to both his and virtually everyone's shock Eevee began to copy his movements; bending down, tail high, and most surprising of all sparks started to fly from her body. His eyes went wide at the sight, but Eevee and May didn't seem to think anything of it.

"Start," Dawn said in an airy voice, wondering what the heck was going on.

* * *

Don't worry the battle should be entertaining and won't really be like the previous one. Well hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading. Please review and I should be back on my normal schedule now so the next one will be up in a couple days.


	9. The True Battle of the Sexes

Ah that ending probably got quite a few of you thinking. I always found that move rather interesting and the nearly countless ways of using it in a battle to one's advantage. Too bad that in the games it really sucks. So without any further waiting here's the battle.

* * *

"Start."

Snapping back into the battle Ash tried to put the sight behind him. "Pikachu use Quick Attack!"

"Dig underground Eevee!" May countered.

Before Pikachu could regain his composure from watching his opponent copy him nearly perfectly and start his attack, Eevee was already gone with only a small hole as evidence of where to.

"_I knew that she would be using Dig sooner or later,"_ Ash thought. _"Ground is good against Electric so it's only natural. Good thing that I was ready for it."_

"Pikachu use your ears; listen for her digging through the ground!"

Unlike the last time that she used Dig on him Pikachu was fully prepared for this one. Honing his keen hearing towards the ground he slowly began to pick up the sound of her paws moving the ground as she burrowed towards him.

Noticing that his partner had located Eevee, Ash was quick to give his next order. "Iron Tail when she comes out!"

With his tail glowing metallic silver Pikachu quickly jumped to his right just as the Evolution Pokémon popped out underneath him. Swinging his tail in a sweeping motion Eevee was easily able to evade it, and even use it as a springboard to throw herself up into the air.

But even though her Pokémon didn't get hit May was slightly disappointed in the attack. _"Pikachu should be much faster than that,"_ she thought. _"And the rest of his movements are a bit sluggish compared to their usual. Either Ash is underestimating us again or Pikachu doesn't want to go all out on Eevee. For this to work we need both of them to take this battle a bit more seriously."_

"Alright Eevee, Return!" May called out knowing that out of all of their attacks that was one of the two that would get their attention the most.

"Return?" Ash asked with a very confused look on his face. "Why do you want her to return to you? I never would have thought that you would surrender a match like that May."

May just said nothing in return as she looked up at her partner, knowing that everyone would be in for a little surprise.

"Vee," the little Pokémon nodded as she reached the apex of her jump. As Eevee began to make a decent her entire body began to glow in a soft white light. In the process her speed greatly increased as she dropped straight down, head first.

Ash may not have completely understood her order but he did understand when not to test his luck. "Pikachu dodge, now!"

The tone in Ash's voice told Pikachu that this was a true command and not just as part of a leisurely battle with a friend. In a split second the electric mouse moved several meters to his left just as Eevee hit ground.

The resulting impact surprised virtually everyone there as a small tremor shook the earth and dust billowed up from the force of the attack. A few seconds later as it cleared one could start to make out the small fox shaking her head clearing off the dirt, in the middle of a sizable crater where Pikachu just was.

The original target was wide-eyed as he looked at who he thought was the more docile of his two suitors. If that would have hit it would have pretty much been game over for him no matter how you look at it.

"Dear god May what the heck to you feed her?" Ash exclaimed after regaining his senses.

"Now Ash you know that a master never reveals her secrets," May told him with a wink. "Or at least I won't tell you until dinner. Maybe now you'll take us a bit more seriously."

"_I don't think that I was underestimating them but I figured that Pikachu would have been able to stay at least one step ahead of her most of the time. Guess I can't even take that for granted,"_ Ash thought as May just stood there, almost as if she was waiting for something to happen.

"Alright if you say so, we'll go full power."

Pikachu quickly looked back at his trainer who had an apologetic look on his face. Neither wanted to go all out on their friends, for different reasons of course, but after that last attack they really didn't have much of a choice. He would much rather be keeping her from harm instead of causing it.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!"

At his command Ash could see a smirk come over May's face. "Eevee dodge and use Thunderbolt!"

"What!" Both Ash and Dawn where wondering what the heck May was talking about as Pikachu launched his attack, a brilliant bolt of pure electrons headed straight for his opponent.

Without too much trouble Eevee was able to sidestep the attack and not long after all members there could see the sparks start to fly from the Evolution Pokémon's body before they finally combined into another bolt of white hot energy. But unlike the last one, Eevee's Thunderbolt veered off target and hit a nearby tree, frying it to a crisp and even splintering a good portion of it.

"Guess we need to work on our aim a bit," May said innocently.

Once again both Ash and Dawn were taken back as to what they just saw, that single attack breaking virtually every paradigm they had about that Eevee.

"_Okay this is not what I signed up for when I thought up this battle, that last attack of hers looked exactly like Pikachu's and it almost had the same strength too. I was thinking it would be nothing but a small but enjoyable skirmish between two friends, and while Pikachu would probably come out ahead in the end we would both have a bit of fun with it. Not one where Pikachu is actually getting a run for his money from a Pokémon that I thought was specialized in appeals. But no matter how odd their attacks seem they still can't beat us in speed. At least that should give me some more time to think this over and come up with a counter-strategy."_

"Pikachu Agility! Stay out of her range for a little while."

Again Ash could see a small smirk come across May's face and he had no clue as to why. Pikachu began to race around the battlefield with the Evolution Pokémon trying to keep a careful eye on him, waiting for her next order.

"_Forget about that for now, we just need to get ahead again. What is it with her and being able to counter me so easily? I mean first it was the battle a couple days ago with Venusaur and not it's this battle with her Eevee. To start it off she perfectly mimics Pikachu's battle position right down to the electricity and then…"_ It was at that point that he realized his mistake.

"Oh no, Pikachu stop!"

"Too late Ash; Eevee Sand Attack, Double Team, and then Mimic!"

Quickly kicking up a blinding cloud of sand in all directions, Eevee became lost from their sight for just a moment. It didn't take long for everything to settle and by that time the one Eevee was replaced by several copies of herself across the field, all with a big smile on their face as Ash and Pikachu quickly scanned from Eevee to Eevee.

"Something this simple won't work on us May, you should at least know that one. Forget about targeting them individually; use Thunder Wave to get them all at once." Ash was getting back into his full battle mindset by this point. May was pulling tricks that he never expected and was actually winning as of this point, even if neither had actually landed an attack on the other. He just didn't want to receive another embarrassing loss like before. Well that and not having to pay for everyone's dessert.

Focusing on his electric attack again Pikachu also knew that he underestimated Eevee and May. But even if she wanted to become his mate he wouldn't lose this easily to someone several years his junior in battle experience. Sending out his electricity in a large pulsating wave it didn't take long for him to cover the entire field with the paralyzing voltage.

One by one the shifting Eevee copies were hit and faded away until none remained.

"_Okay if they were all Double Team duplicates then where is the original,"_ Ash thought as he scanned the ground, not noticing anything out of place since the Sand Attack covered their sight.

"Alright Pikachu try to smell out and catch Eevee's scent; she's around here somewhere, we just need to find her."

Almost laughing at the thought Pikachu followed his trainer's orders nonetheless, no matter how hopeless he thought it would be. Closing his eyes the electric mouse took a deep breath in through his nose. To his surprise there actually was a scent in the area, but it wasn't what he was expecting to smell. Coming from every direction was _that_ scent that he had been smelling from Eevee since yesterday, but it was much stronger than any other time he had smelled it. Considering how strong it was this time he could finally start to analyze the smell. It was the most unique fragrance that he had ever experienced and it was actually almost hypnotizing. For the first time ever he completely forgot that he was in the middle of a battle and just took in another deep breath, enjoying the distinctly sweet aroma that seemed to tingle his entire body. There was something about it that made him feel quite different than he had ever felt before. It was exciting and relaxing at the same time, it was hard to explain yet there was something about it that made him unable to think of anything else. Even the new commands his Pikapi were calling out to him fell upon deaf ears.

Noticing that their "secret weapon" had begun to work May decided that it was time to try and end it before Pikachu had a chance to recover. "Alright Eevee time to finish this, Attract!"

As the last word left the coordinator's lips Buneary's mouth dropped as she started to squirm to get out of Dawn's grip, calling out what would have been incomprehensible sentences even to other Pokémon. She had to try and stop that attack at virtually any cost. But by the time she hit the ground to run up to her love interest it was too late as Eevee had already begun to make her move. Yet as the rabbit began to run she too could pick up an odd smell in the area, it wasn't all that strong but there was something about it that made her anxious and quite irritated.

In nothing but a brown blur Eevee dashed out of the hole that she had dug earlier and in no time was right next to Pikachu. Of course with his attention elsewhere the Electric-type never noticed her arrival until she was right next to him, the aggressive stance from battle replaced by a relaxed almost seductive one as she slowly took the last couple of steps up to him.

"Vui," she cooed softly into his ear. Rubbing her full body up against him, the little Pokémon suddenly felt better than she had felt all the time that they were back. Here they were together and he had nothing on his mind but her. There was no Buneary, no vacation, even no trainers. As she rubbed past his electric sac she could feel a small tingle run through her body, to her surprise she found it quite enjoyable. But before she could do a return trip Pikachu fell onto his back completely unconscious, an odd but obviously content smile on his face.

"Wow that worked far better than I thought," May thought out loud as both Ash and Dawn looked dumbstruck at the winner.

"Um, I guess that means Pikachu is unable to battle. May and Eevee are the winners," Dawn stated, still not completely believing that May had beaten Ash yet again. With Eevee nonetheless.

Running up to Pikachu, Ash made it to him just after Buneary did, who was already looking over the fallen Pokémon casting an accusing glare at her rival. Eevee appeared to still be in seventh heaven from the battle, even with the thought of actually winning in the complete back of her mind.

"Pikachu, Pikachu are you okay?" Ash asked his partner, picking him in his arms.

"Pi…ka…chu…" Pikachu too seemed to be completely out of it, staring off into space and just purring softly every once and a while as he rubbed up against Ash's arms.

"What's up with him?" Ash asked, looking over Pikachu to see if he had any injuries; which of course, considering that not a single attack hit, there were none.

"Beats me," May replied innocently. "Though his reaction was a quite a bit unlike than what the usual Attract attack should provoke," she added with a sly smile.

Looking over at the brunette with an accusing stare, Dawn could only wonder what she was planning. There was obviously something behind this battle than what appeared. Looking at not only the two participants of the battle but also her own Pokémon as well there was obviously something that went on between them. There was something about the whole battle that seemed almost too well put together, too well planned, all the way down to the final Attract attack.

"_Alright this just doesn't add up, up until now I could swear that Eevee didn't have any real attraction to Pikachu but looking at what just happened there is almost no way to try and defend that point anymore. And by the looks of it May is helping Eevee to try and get Pikachu. So much for the 'like trainer like Pokémon' comment. I don't think that it would be a good idea to try and confront her about it at this point but there is no doubt that Buneary will be having competition as well. Looks like our 'easy win' isn't coming anytime soon. The initial battle, helping me get together with him, Eevee's crush, the wrestling match out in the ocean; has May planned everything out between not only the Pokémon but us as well?"_

"So Ash it looks like you are going to be paying for our dessert this evening," May stated proudly as she walked up to him and Pikachu, the latter of which was just starting to fully wake up in his trainer's arms.

"No kidding, although I have a few questions to ask you about your battling this evening while were eating," he said breathing a sigh of relief that Pikachu already seemed back to normal. "But before we head out I have something that I want to do first. You two can go and find the restaurant, just nothing too expensive, and call me with your decision. I'll see you in a few minutes." Waving a bit the trainer swiftly hurried off into the city.

Watching him leave Dawn quickly turned to May after picking up a still annoyed looking Buneary. "I just remembered that I had something to do as well, I'll leave the selection of the place to you May. Just call or text both of us with what you found. Later!" Running off she followed generally the same path that Ash did just moments ago.

"Well so much for that," May said with a bit of surprise. Grabbing her own Pokémon and lifting her onto her shoulder May started to head into town, yet a different direction that the other two had gone. "So it looks as if the plan worked even better than we thought," the brunette told her partner as they cruised down Main Street looking for a good place to eat. "I figured that Pikachu would react at least somewhat positively to your advances but not to the point where he would be completely knocked out. Of course Ash is bound to have plenty of questions about how we were able to battle one of his most powerful to a virtual standstill. We'll just have to leave out portions of it when we tell him. I just wonder what made both of them run off like that."

Shrugging it off May continued to look for a good place to eat, and yet not some overly classy restaurant that would make Ash go broke from paying for it. Finally asking several locals for suggestions she found her way to a slightly exotic looking one. There were plenty of people in there, meaning that it shouldn't be too bad in terms of quality but there were still spots open so they wouldn't have to wait for a table.

Deciding that this was as good as any May opened up her Pokétch and sent a text message to both Ash and Dawn telling where the place was and what the name was. Closing it up May walked up to the counter and it wasn't too long before a waiter came up to her.

"Welcome to the Tea House, it is just you and your Pokémon tonight?"

"Actually I have another couple friends coming in just a little bit so a table for three please" May told him.

"Okay…" Looking over a small chart he crossed out one of the tables. Grabbing a few menus he started walking off towards the seating area. "Please follow me."

Walking over to the table May ordered some tea for herself and some water for Eevee while they waited for everyone to arrive. It didn't take long for her to get her drinks so she poured out a bowl of water for Eevee and a cup of tea for herself.

After a couple minutes the first one to arrive was Dawn, and May noticed that she was rather peppy and happy as she came in. Walking over to the table she let Buneary down onto the ground before sitting down.

"What's with you?" May finally asked as Dawn began humming to herself, "did you just win the grand prize in the lottery or something?"

"Something like that," Dawn stated letting out a content squeal. "I'll tell you later tonight."

"Okay…" May had absolutely no clue what the heck she was talking about, let alone why she was actually humming. May even recognized the song, but sadly Dawn was off-tune on many of the notes making the brunette cringe every once and a while.

"So have you ordered yet?" Dawn finally asked as she picked up one of the menus.

"Nope, just got something to drink for both me and Eevee."

"So then let's see what they have to eat here."

Sighing at the other coordinator's actions May just looked back at her own menu, but no sooner as she did Ash came walking into the place as well. Unlike Dawn he wasn't looking all that cheerful. Though it wasn't as if he was down or anything, in fact as soon as he caught sight of Dawn and May he seemed kinda nervous as he walked over.

Sitting next to Dawn and letting Pikachu down on the table Ash quickly grabbed a menu and started to look it over.

"_So first Dawn comes in acting like she's won coordinator of the year and just after Ash comes in looking like that,"_ May thought as she looked at the drastically different moods that her two friends were in. But it was what her imagination started to conjure up that made her chest start to tighten up slightly. _"I get the feeling that something happened between them just now and by the looks of it, it wasn't something small."_

"So have you…"

"No Ash, we haven't ordered yet," May interrupted him, forgetting the uneasiness she was beginning to feel. "I've just ordered something to drink and Dawn has barely begun to look over the menu."

Noticing Pikachu taking stray glances over at Eevee, May couldn't help but smile at the thought that her plan might have actually worked. Of course almost as if on cue out of the corner of her eye May saw something trying to crawl its way up onto the chair next to her.

Needless to say Buneary didn't like being put onto the ground when Pikachu and Eevee were up on top of the table. But considering how her trainer was acting there really wasn't much that she could do about it. At least one of them was having an easy time on their mission. Quickly making it up on the table she made it up just as the electric mouse averted his eyes away from the other Pokémon present there. Casting another accusing glare at Eevee she made her way back to her trainer's side of the table, conveniently right next to Pikachu.

"Now May you said that you would be explaining a few things tonight about that battle," Ash said as he continued to figure out what to order.

"Don't worry I haven't forgotten. Let's just order our food and then we can talk about it," May told him in a slightly annoyed tone. What did he think that she would have forgotten about something like that in that short of time?

"Are you three ready to order? Or would you like some more time?"

Looking up from their menus the three saw a black vested female waitress looking down at them, some glasses of water in her hand.

"Well I've been ready for a little while," May told her; looking over at her other two companions she could tell that they were probably ready as well.

"Alright then." Putting down a glass in front of Ash and Dawn she took out a small booklet and flipped open a page before grabbing a pen. "So what would you like tonight?"

"I'll just have a large bowl of ramen and some egg rolls," May said, knowing that it was a slightly odd combination.

Nodding her head as she wrote it down the waitress looked over at Dawn.

"Let's see, do you just have a garden salad?" The blunette asked while still looking through the menu.

"Yes we do," the waitress confirmed.

"Then I'll have that."

"And what kind of dressing would you like?"

"Vinaigrette would be nice," Dawn told her as she closed her menu.

"Alright, and how about you?"

Ash continued to scan the menu before actually telling his order. "Alright I'll have the tiger pork, the bacon wrapped shrimp, white rice, a few egg rolls, and a big bowl of ramen as well."

Stifling a nervous chuckle at the large order the waitress wrote down his order. "Would you two like anything else to drink?"

"I'll just have what she's having," Ash told her while motioning at May.

"And I'll be fine with water," Dawn added in.

"Thank you, your order shouldn't be too long," she told them before walking off.

"What the heck is tiger pork?" May asked Ash as he nearly drooled at the thought of all of his food.

"I dunno but it looked delicious in the picture," he said, still envisioning the meal. "But there are other things to talk about. Alright May spill it," Ash quickly told her in a half-way playful tone after snapping out of his daydreaming. "How the heck did Eevee beat Pikachu?"

"And how exactly were you able to beat the Sinnoh Champion twice in a row while only taking second in the Johto Grand Festival?" Dawn added in.

* * *

Now I may have a love for Eevee but I'm virtually always against having a character being all-powerful, it kinda takes away from the fun. So of course as you can guess there will be several explanations coming. And not only for the attacks either. Thanks for reading, please review, comment, or even ask questions if you have them. Til' next time…


	10. Breakdown

I get the feeling that by the end of this chapter that many of you aren't going to be all that happy with me, or if not with me then…well I'll just let you find out for yourselves I guess. As always thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter.

* * *

"Fine fine, where to start?" May said mostly to herself while she tapped her finger on her chin. "Kay, why not with Eevee. Believe it or not that little Pokémon is actually one of my most impressive battlers. It mostly started after I learned that her ability was actually Adaptability. As you both know a Pokémon who uses an attack that is the same type as itself the attack's power would be greater than if they used one that wasn't, for a quick example Pikachu using Thunderbolt and Iron Tail respectively. Eevee's ability further increases this power and as such her little body packs quite the punch. She's even beaten Blastoise a few times. But we also like to use moves that include deception before hitting with one of our two powerhouse attacks. The first is one that you saw, Return. That is an attack whose strength is based on the bond between the Pokémon and its trainer, the greater the bond the more powerful the attack. And for us that equates to quite a bit of power. The other is one called Trump Card whose power increases the more times it is used in a single battle. After a few times it becomes powerful enough to even knock out a Gyarados in one hit, the only problem is that if we use it in a contest battle we will lose points for repeating an attack so it's kinda a double-edged sword. Mimic we just learned to fill the gap between the other two and to give a bit of flair to not only appeal rounds but to confuse our opponents in the battle round at times as well. The combination of the three actually works rather well."

"That explains that much I guess," Ash said as he tried to take in the information. Complex strategies outside of battle were never his strong suit.

"So that explains how Eevee could keep up with Pikachu in terms of power," Dawn continued, unphased by May's explanation, caring more for the other question. "You still haven't told us why you were able to beat Torterra and Pikachu so easily."

"Oh that one is actually kinda simple," May said as she smiled slightly remembering some old memories. Grabbing her cup of tea she sipped it a bit before continuing. "That's because besides possibly Brock, I know Ash's battle style better than anyone. As we traveled together I found myself copying virtually his entire style. Possibly due to the fact that I was always intently watching every one of his battles learning all I could, unconsciously taking mental notes the whole time. And when I was getting into a slump in Johto I acquired copies of every one of his battles that I could get my hands on. From the Kanto Gyms and Indigo league, to the Orange Islands, Johto Gyms and Silver League Conference, and even most of his exploits in Sinnoh. Including the entire Sinnoh Championship."

Nearly choking on the water he was drinking Ash was quite surprised by May's response. He knew that she had taken on some of his quirks and strategies but not to that extent.

"You know May some people would call that stalking," Dawn told her rather flatly.

"I was using them for educational purposes, nothing more," the brunette defended herself. "From all of those I was able to further refine my battling skills and after that point I only lost one other battle round in the Johto Contests. Of course I had to work on the appeals round all by myself it wasn't too bad as long as kept an open mind. While watching all of those videos I guess I kinda started to absorb his style more than I thought as I found myself falling back into my habit of taking mental notes of each one of his moves. I actually surprised myself as to how much I was able to predict his attacks and strategies in the final round of the Sinnoh Tournament, and again in our first battle in Pallet. So to put it simply while I don't doubt my battle skills I do doubt that I would be able to win against any other League Champion besides Ash."

"So what are you saying that I could never beat you?" Ash asked her, still surprised at all the work she went through just to copy his technique.

"Well besides the fact that I could list off all 50 different species of Pokémon that you own, and as I've also already stated about how much I've studied your battle style I'd have to say that yes, you could still beat me. And depending on what Pokémon you chose you could do it rather easily."

"Huh? But after everything you've said…"

"I know what my Pokémon can and can't do, as well as what yours are capable of. If we were to battle each other again under completely fair conditions Pikachu would have won almost hands down. While Eevee has a greater physical power than he does that doesn't matter one bit if she can't hit him, and Eevee simply can't contend with Pikachu's speed. That's why I needed to wait for you to use Agility before we really did all that much in our battle. Besides there were a few other reasons that she was able to win," May finished in a whisper.

"Wow that wasn't the response that I was expecting to hear," Dawn blurted out as their food arrived. "But how were you able to paralyze Pikachu in the end?"

"Paralyze him?

"Yeah, after the Sand Attack Pikachu could barely move. He didn't even respond to Ash's commands during that time, he just kinda stood there."

Giggling a little at the true reason why May looked back at her two companions with as clueless a face as she could muster. "Who knows? It wasn't anything that I was planning so the only person that you could ask that one to is Pikachu."

Ash and Dawn both looked down at the mouse, who was currently trying to fend off Buneary, looked back at the two of them and just gave a nervous laugh. He barely understood why he couldn't do anything but stand there and take in that smell. There was just something about it… His eyes shot open as he once again got a whiff of that scent. Shaking his head he didn't even try to look over at where he knew it was coming from. It had such an effect on him he had no clue as to why he acted like that when it came to him.

"So he isn't going to be telling anything anytime soon," Dawn finally said as Buneary looked curiously at his reaction. "At least not to us," she finished while looking over at Ash.

"Hey don't give me that look," the trainer told her as he caught her reference. "Pikachu will tell me if and when he feels like it. I won't pressure him in any way to say something that he doesn't want to."

"Alright that's enough of that," May finally said as she picked up a couple of chopsticks. "Seeing as how our food is here we might as well enjoy it."

Sure enough in all of their talking the two sitting across from her didn't even notice when their food was placed in front of them. This was quite surprising considering that Ash needed three large plates and a large bowl to hold everything that he ordered.

"Ironic that even though you agreed to pay for our portion of the bill you were the one to order the most Ash," Dawn said as she started to pour some of the vinaigrette onto her salad. "I'm also surprised that you didn't order enough to match him May."

"I guess I'm just not all that hungry tonight," she told the other coordinator. "I've had a few things on my mind and I think they are the reason."

"Anything in particular?" Dawn asked, seeing if May would say what the blunette was hoping to any higher power that she didn't want to hear.

Shaking her head May just grabbed some more noodles from the dark broth before blowing on them a little. "Just a few random things that don't want to leave; it's nothing to worry about."

Breathing a slight sigh of relief Dawn turned to her own food and filled a fork full of the leafy greens before taking a big bite. Looking over to her right she nearly gagged as Ash was already patting his stomach, virtually every morsel of food that was in front of him had completely disappeared. The only thing left was about a quarter of his ramen, which by the looks of it were being saved for Pikachu. Turning to say something to May she found that Ash wasn't the only one who was done. Most of May's bowl was also gone and she was feeding the last of it to Eevee who was happily leaning over the bowl taking what was being offered.

"_Am I the only normal person here when it comes to food? Is it too much to ask to just sit down and enjoy a meal without becoming a living black hole?"_

Giving a portion of her salad to her own Pokémon, Dawn could only try to hide her embarrassment at knowing, let alone being friends with, the only two humans that could beat a Snorlax in an eating competition.

Walking by, their waitress stopped suddenly as she noticed that two of the three at the table were already done with their food. "Um, was everything okay?" She hesitantly asked.

"Very good," Ash said to her as he began to give the last bit of his ramen to Pikachu.

"Yes it was," May added in, just finishing up Eevee's own portion.

"Will there be anything else or should I get you the bill?"

"I think that the bill will be fine."

"Alright I'll be right back," taking one last look at the empty plates just to make sure that she didn't go crazy the waitress quickly ran off to get their tab.

"You do know that you two don't have to rush through every meal like that," Dawn told them as she was just starting to get to the end of her salad. "The food won't go anywhere after you get it."

"I just couldn't help myself," the other coordinator said. "It was pretty good."

"As for me after all that shopping I was really hungry. You do know that we skipped lunch today just to go in and out of those stupid shops. Besides once we get back to the hotel I'm going straight to bed."

Sighing Dawn knew that that was one battle that could never be won. _"I guess it's just something that I'll just have to accept later on. No matter how many times you see it he can still surprise you."_

"So are you already forgetting that you owe both of us a dessert Ash?" May asked.

"I can't believe that I'm actually going to say this but I'm going to have to take a rain check on that one. I'm not going to back out of it but I just want to head back and sleep right now."

Seeing that their waitress was back at their table the three of them looked back up at her as she sorted through her booklet. "Okay then did you want it all on separate tabs or one?"

"All on one please," Ash told her in a slightly dejected tone.

"Alright here you go. I hope that you will join us again in the future." Giving Ash the bill she also put a few wrapped thin cookies that were folded in on themselves looking almost like a bow-tie.

"What the heck are these?" Dawn asked as she grabbed one and opened up the wrapping to get a closer look at it.

"I think that they're called fortune cookies," Ash said as he grabbed one of his own. "There is supposed to be a piece of paper with your fortune in the center of them. Or so I've heard, I've never had one before."

Splitting the cookie into two Dawn found the paper tucked into the folds of the cookie.

"What's yours say Dawn?"

Turning it towards the light she read off the words. "'Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are sown from the seeds of misfortune.' Well that's not a very uplifting fortune." Seeing Ash open up his own cookie Dawn asked him the same question. "How about yours?"

"'Many questions will be asked of you soon yet only one of them can be answered with yes. Treasure that one forever.' Talk about cryptic; what's the point of these things if we don't even understand them? May why don't you try yours, maybe we can get one that makes sense."

"Sure." Grabbing and opening up the last one May took a look at her own fortune. "' A great change in your life is not far off, don't be afraid to reach for the stars.' Sorry, can't say that mine is much better. The first part isn't all that hard but reaching for the stars? What's that supposed to mean?"

"No clue," Ash said as he counted out the amount of the bill plus a little more for a tip. "But I'm getting tired so let's head back. All I want to do is go back and relax long enough to fall asleep."

"Fine, I guess I can't say anything against that," Dawn said as she let out a big yawn. "Besides I'm a little tired as well."

Grabbing their Pokémon the three of them set out again for the hotel and, for at least two of them, king-sized beds to sleep in. Walking back the sun was just finishing up falling beneath the horizon, casting a dim but relaxing red glow about the town. Looking up a bit May saw something that she missed while she was scouting out the area for a place to eat. Walking up to it she found that it was a poster tacked onto the window of a tourism agency.

"What's that?" Dawn asked as she stepped in behind May.

"It looks like a poster for some festival that they are having in the coming days. I think that this must have been the reason that that radio station was giving out the tickets in the first place. It actually seems kinda interesting. What do you guys say, should we go?"

"I don't see why not," Ash commented as he stood behind the two girls, arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh look! It says that any attendees are invited to wear traditional clothing of the area," Dawn noticed as she read the poster. "You know what that means; we get to go shopping tomorrow!"

Ash let out a big groan as he immediately started to walk back towards the hotel.

"Oh come on, shopping is fun!"

"For you it is, personally I'd rather drink a bottle of battery acid."

"Now you're just being pessimistic."

Watching her two friends bicker like a married couple, May couldn't help but feel both proud that she at least somewhat helped get them like that and depressed that they were getting closer.

"_This will be one of my best chances yet to get them together,"_ she thought as she started to catch up to them._ "There should be a large crowd there tomorrow so it won't be hard to 'lose' myself among them and give those two plenty of time alone. The sooner that I can get them together the sooner I can finally convince myself to let go of this silly crush."_

Yet no matter what she told herself every time that May saw those two together it was just another pain that shot through her body. While some were barely noticeable even to her, there were others that she couldn't even think about anything but it until the pain passed. She knew that she was jealous of Dawn getting close to Ash but she also knew that there was no way that a simple crush would win over the budding love that she so clearly saw between them. But no matter how much she reasoned with herself the pains seemed to be coming more often and hit harder as the vacation continued on, much to her own discomfort.

"_At least Eevee will be able to find someone during our time here. I just hope that Dawn isn't too mad,"_ she thought as they entered through the sliding glass door of their suite.

"Well I'm going to do a couple things and I'm heading to bed," Ash told them with a big yawn. "I'll see you two in the morning." Heading towards the suite's bathroom one could just hear him mumbling "I hope that the couch at least pulls out into a bed," before closing the door behind himself with Pikachu right on his heels.

Taking a closer look, Dawn seemed satisfied once she heard the shower start up. Motioning for May to follow her, the two of them and their Pokémon entered into Dawn's room as she closed the door behind them. As May sat down on the bed she could see that Dawn was once again in the same mood as she was after first entering the restaurant.

"I just couldn't wait to finally tell someone," the blunette finally declared as she took a running leap onto the bed with Buneary still in her arms.

"And what would that be?" May finally asked several minutes later once Dawn seemed to calm down enough to talk coherently. She continued to pet Eevee as the little Pokémon lay in her lap, if nothing else just to calm her nerves from the walk back.

"As you can probably guess, after your battle today I followed Ash into town. This morning he said to me that he was planning on buying something for someone while we were on this trip. I could only assume that it was for me but I had absolutely no way to be sure."

"And…"

"He went into the shopping district that we were earlier and entered one of the shops there. It was a jewelry store just across the street from one of the ones that we went into."

"_The same one that he was looking at earlier?"_ May asked herself as Dawn continued.

"I could barely hear and see him but I was able to catch enough. Apparently he bought a gold locket from there, a very expensive one. Pure 24 karat gold locket and chain with several small sapphires and diamonds on the top of the locket itself. And to top it all off I could make out a few sentences that he told the jeweler, 'I really hope that she likes it, it should really bring out her eyes,' and 'I've been with her for quite a while now and I think that I'm ready to finally say it.' Considering that it was us traveling together for the last couple years I now know that it's me, not to mention that the sapphires really would go well with my eyes."

"Well that is one step I didn't expect from Ash. I'm really happy for you Dawn," May told her friend in an unintentional half-hearted manner. "Maybe he'll give it to you during the festival."

"I can only hope," she squealed. "I can picture it now, sitting under the stars and him taking out the locket and finally confessing his love for me. I then tell him my own feelings and we share our very first kiss."

May visibly flinched at the thought. "Well I'll try to give you two as much time alone tomorrow as possible so that it can just be you two." Faking a yawn she stood up letting Eevee down on to the ground. The Evolution Pokémon looked up at her trainer; she could tell that this talk wasn't helping her in any way. "I think that I'm going to head off to bed, goodnight."

Not even hearing an answer, May left Dawn's room with Eevee close behind and stepped out into the darkened living room. She could hear the soft sound of breathing coming from the couch and she walked over to find Ash and Pikachu already asleep on the couch. Apparently it didn't fold out like he had hoped but the leather couch was more than large enough for him to sleep comfortably on.

"_He always did look cute and innocent as he slept."_ Feeling a single tear make its way down her face May wiped it off before taking another look at him. _"I really am happy for you. Dawn is a good friend and should be an even better girlfriend."_

Walking off to her room May quickly but quietly closed the door behind her.

Eevee watched the entire scene unfold before her. While she felt sorry for her trainer she could see no reason that this would be any worse than the nights before. Hearing a noise behind her Eevee quickly pointed her head in the direction of the sound. To her surprise Pikachu was not asleep like his trainer and was sitting on the top of the couch looking down at her.

Pikachu had just woken up to the sound of May's door closing and climbing up on the couch he just then saw Eevee looking back at him. When they caught eyes he could see her entire body posture change. Lifting her tail up high she slowly headed for the sliding glass door while he just watched every moment. As she reached the door she looked over her shoulder expectantly, as if the little Pokémon knew exactly what he was going to do, before opening it and walking out into the cool night.

After watching that display he knew what his body was telling him to do. The scent coming from her was now as strong as ever and it was activating some of the most basic drives in his body and mind. It was at this point that he now knew what that smell was and why it was coming from her, but since the battle he figured out how to keep himself from being hypnotized and taken in by the scent. Even though he was no longer controlled by it there was still something else that drove him to follow her out the door. It wasn't solely due to the fact that the smell that was coming from her was interesting, exciting, and all around enjoyable but simply due to something that he realized during their battle. The thought of hurting her was one thing that he felt almost as if it was physically impossible for him to do. Even if he should have been taking the last portion of the battle completely seriously, there was still a part of him forcing him to hold back. He knew that he wanted to be there to protect her from harm, both physically and emotionally, and not just as some parent or brotherly figure but to be by her side as equals and that he would be the only one that she would allow to fill that position.

* * *

Leaning up against her door May could feel a few tears make their way past her eyelids. The more she thought about her talk with Dawn the more it hurt. But it wasn't the locket that truly upset her, nor was it even the fact that she was planning on leaving the two of them alone for a good portion of the night tomorrow. What seemed to tear her in two was a scene that kept replaying in her mind, over and over and over again. It always started with Ash and Dawn sitting next to a lake with the stars and moon shining over them; Ash bringing out the locket and presenting it to an overjoyed Dawn. And finally taking his finger under her chin he gently pulled her face so that her blue eyes were looking straight into his own dark brown ones. Bringing her closer there were only three words said between the two. Right before they finally made contact Ash said in a sincere romantic voice "I love you."

"I was wrong," she whispered.

As the scene continued to play over and over again in her mind May could feel the tears becoming more and more forceful. On a simple urge she hurried over to her pack and started to rummage through it for a few seconds. When her search failed to produce what she was looking for she found herself beginning to panic.

"_Where is it?"_ May asked herself as she started to nearly tear into the different pockets of the pack. _"I couldn't have lost it. Where is it!"_

Lost in her frantic search May just started to throw anything that got in her way out of the pack. Clothes, spare Pokéballs, her wallet, it didn't make a difference; they were all tossed over her shoulder in search of that one thing. One of the items in there was a polished silver case, not a single blemish or scratch had ever touched its surface; yet it too was grabbed and tossed aside like all the others, flying over her shoulder it crashed into the wall with a quiet but echoing thud. Its contents of several colorful ribbons falling out and landing on the floor as the case landed on top of them with a soft thump.

Just as the pack was empted of all of its contents May finally remembered where it was. Racing over to a chair where some old clothes were laying she mercilessly began to tear though them as well. She only then calmed down as she felt the item in a side pocket of her pants.

Taking it out, the item glowed in the soft moonlight coming from the window. Clutching it tightly this single piece meant more to May than anything else in the whole world at that point; more than any trophy, any ribbon, or any title. Taking another look at it the ribbon was her most prized possession, the crème de la crème of her good luck charms. Well to be more precise it was only half of a ribbon, and yet it was because of this simple fact that she treasured it so. For it was the person who held the other half that she was able to feel connected to him no matter how far apart they were.

As she held the item to her breast the last bit of resistance that she had towards the tears fell away as they soon came full force.

"I was wrong. How could I have been do stupid, I was just plain wrong," she muttered to herself through the crying. "It wasn't just a crush that I had for him; it was far more than that. Is this really what it feels like to be in love and see that person taken away from you? I could stand seeing him and Dawn together, I could even bear through watching them hold hands and laugh together, but to watch him confess his love to her is something that I just can't… I just can't… How could I have been so stupid!" She nearly yelled as she took the ribbon and threw it full force at her door.

Hitting the door an echoing thud could be heard as the sound resonated though the wood. The ribbon bounced harmlessly off and hit the carpet, making no sound whatsoever as it fell.

The tears still flowing, May walked over to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows before pulling it in and lying on the soft mattress, using them both to muffle the sounds of her grief.

"How could I have been so stupid?" She asked herself again. "And to make it worse I've already made a full promise to Dawn that I would do everything in my power to get her and Ash together. If I go against that now what would that make me? I truly would be the worst person in existence, not only breaking a promise to a close friend but at the same time snatching away her hopes and dreams right in front of her face. Of course that's even considering if there was a slim chance that he would even return my feelings, he and Dawn have gotten so close, partially thanks to my help… I've made it so that he would never think of me like that anymore. By this point it's hopeless, completely hopeless"

Sniffling as the tears refused to stop May just buried her head even further into the pillow. "What should I do? Mom, Dad, Max, Brock, Eevee, what should I do? I just feel so powerless right now, so utterly powerless and alone. I don't know what to do!" Realizing one of the names that she just called the brunette quickly raised her head and scanned the pitch black room. "Eevee? Eevee!? Don't tell me… Even you abandoned me? I really am alone now… My friends, my Pokémon, if not these then who?" Curling back up with the pillow hard within her grasp the depressed coordinator just cried her heart out in hopes that it would relieve the great pain that she was feeling as a bottomless hole just seemed to form within her. She felt so cold, so alone, and as there was no one she could confide it in, all she could to was cry as the clock ticked away.

* * *

A good amount to take in but like I said not the most happy ending, for May at least. There's still a few chapters to go so don't tune out just yet. Reviews, comments, and questions are always welcome; but please nothing about the amount of Pokémon that Ash has caught. I did a rough count of what he had up until this point and added a couple, while I try for perfection some areas are more important than others. Next chapter should be up as scheduled.


	11. Recovery and Decision Time

Well of course thanks for the reviews that you guys sent last time. But just to let you know even though I thought that the last chapter was emotional, this one takes it to a whole other aspect. Enjoy.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Eevee and Pikachu came back to the suite. As they entered Pikachu looked on at the other Pokémon worriedly as she walked through the sliding glass door. Even though her body was rather stiff and tired the young Pokémon was high in spirits, rubbing up against Pikachu as she passed by him earning a content smile and a soft nudge back from the electric mouse.

Looking back over the room they could tell that Ash was still fast asleep, barely even having changed position from when they left. A few incoherent sentences were all that came from him as he began to talk in his sleep, accompanied of course with a big smile as he then turned and fell silent once again.

Yet Eevee could pick up another sound coming from the suite, and it was coming from May's room. Taking a quick glance at Pikachu, she could tell that he too heard it and walking up to the door the sounds only became louder. Confused as to what they could be Eevee quietly opened the door and headed inside. What she witnessed came as a complete shock.

Expecting her trainer to be just mumbling in her sleep, what Eevee found she never would have guessed. Clothes were strewn around the whole room covering up much of the floor, a few Pokéballs were lying about, and even her case of prized Johto Ribbons was open with its contents spilled out on the floor. Taking a few steps into the room Eevee felt her paw land on something hard, lifting it up she could feel a tinge of horror as she realized exactly what she stepped on. It was May's Terracotta Ribbon, the one she won with Ash. Eevee knew that if it was on the floor with the rest of her possessions there had to be something wrong.

And sure enough to her dismay she was correct. The worst was yet to come as she looked over to the bed where the sounds were emanating from. Eevee could feel her heart break in two as to what she saw. There in the middle of the bed, fully clothed and still on top of the covers, was May. She was curled up into a ball, muffled sobs escaping from the pillow that she held next to her. Her usually beautiful brown hair was a mess, completely tangled and out of place. It looked as if she hadn't even fallen asleep at all that night.

Truth be told the poor coordinator hadn't. After finally realizing the reality behind how she felt about Ash, May could do nothing but cry her pain away. By now there wasn't a single tear left to come out of her eyes but even that couldn't stop the sorrow and grief that still had a hold of her.

Eevee couldn't believe what she saw. The trainer that was normally so energetic and willing to go anywhere or take on anyone was now reduced to nothing more than a weeping ball. The sight of everything around her brought a major pain of guilt rushing through her body. While she was out enjoying the night with Pikachu she had left her trainer all alone to this misery. No, trainer wasn't even the right word for it; that girl had looked over her since before she even knew what the world was. Eevee heard her voice before she could even open her eyes; talking to her all the time, a soothing and caring voice that imprinted itself permanently into her memory. Every time that melodic tone hit her ears she could feel herself squirm with delight. She was there when her egg finally hatched and to the young Pokémon's enjoyment the first thing she laid eyes on was the one person that she already recognized. It didn't matter who she was or what she was like, to her _mother_ would be the only definition that could even start to tell how much that girl meant to her. And because she had let her mother stay like that for hours on end was something that she just couldn't even stand.

Virtually even forgetting about Pikachu, Eevee rushed up onto the bed. But as soon as she got there she hesitated. Considering everything Eevee was actually doubtful that May would be happy to see her. Yet hearing another muffled wail coming from the brunette she put all of those fears behind her as she gathered the courage to finally face her mother.

"Eevee," she said softly as she took a few more tentative steps forward.

Finally looking up from her pillow May could only stare at what was on the bed with her. It was then that Eevee noticed that her eyes were completely blood-shot from all the tears. The sight of which only made her feel worse.

"Eevee? Eevee is it really you?"

"Vee," she confirmed softly, taking another step forward, her head down and tail between her legs.

"It is you," May nearly whispered. "It really is you, oh Eevee!"

The Pokémon was quite surprised by May's sudden movement but it was to grab her and take hold of her soft body. May pulled her partner up close to her while falling back down on the pillow. Without even realizing it the coordinator was squeezing her partner with far more force than she intended and Eevee was quite uncomfortable, but even still she didn't give the slightest bit of resistance to it. Eevee felt as though she should be punished for her actions that night and even knowing that May would never do anything like that she still couldn't shake the feeling that that's what she deserved. If anything this could at least be the start of it. Snuggling deeper into her mother's arms Eevee just tried to console her as much as she possibly could.

"Oh Eevee I was wrong, I was completely wrong. It was no simple crush that I had for Ash," May cried into not only the pillow but on Eevee herself. "You were right, somehow I always knew that you were right but didn't want to face it. I'm so sorry Eevee but I feel so helpless. Even if I know and understand all of this it doesn't make me feel even one bit happier. I still have my promise to keep with Dawn to try and get her and Ash together but I just don't know how to deal with it anymore. I can stand seeing them together but knowing that they will one day confess their love for each other is just more than I can bear. The thought just won't get out of my head; I just keep seeing them over and over again. I've gotten to the point where I'm almost wishing that I never met him in the first place. Ash Ketchum, the boy who took me under his wing and showed me the world and all of the wonders that it held, the same boy who I care so deeply about I now want to just completely forget him. Sure I would be forsaking all these memories of the great times we had together but this pain that I'm feeling is just too much for me. I've cried and cried and it just isn't getting any better, that image is still there and no matter how much I try it isn't going away. Eevee what should I do?"

Unable to answer her, the Evolution Pokémon could only try and comfort the distraught coordinator. The extent of human emotions was completely unknown to her so even if she understood everything a definite answer would have still been impossible. Giving a small lick to her face Eevee just lay there with her mother, feeling just as powerless for not being able to help stop her grief.

It was then that even she could feel the tears starting to come to her as well. She would give her life several times over if only to see May with a smile on her face but there was nothing that she could do to help her mother when she needed her the most. And what as worse was that during that moment she had the time of her life as May lay here. She swore from that moment on that if worse comes to worse she would be the one there for her mother for the rest of her life, no other person or Pokémon would make her hesitate on that anymore. Even though as she made this vow Eevee understood that it even included her new mate.

Pikachu watched the entire incident, heartbroken at not only seeing one of his best humans friends in that state but to see Eevee break down right next to her as well. He had made his own pledge that he would try and protect her from any and all pain yet even this was something out of his ability to handle. Looking down he noticed the ribbon that was lying on the floor, still glowing from the soft moonlight filtering in through the window. On a whim he grabbed the item in his mouth and bounded up onto the bed as well, dropping the ribbon right next to May.

"Huh, Pikachu? Why are you here?" May asked as she wiped her face with her shirt and looked up at the apologetic mouse. Noticing what he had brought May could actually feel a smile come to her face as she pulled him in as well, though now actually aware enough to keep from crushing him. "Thank you Pikachu. I don't know what came over me last night but I nearly damaged the one item that I treasure the most out of everything that I've received during my time away from home."

With the two Pokémon in her arms and her ribbon in her hand May finally began to calm down as she felt the tears starting to stop. Just having somebody to pour her emotions out to and the symbol of her love back in her hand was enough for the image of Ash and Dawn to leave her head. Finally free of the nightmare, if only for a moment, May felt the effects of her sleepless night start to take their toll. In moments she was fast asleep, neither a smile nor a frown present on her face as she drifted off holding her ribbon tightly in one hand.

Looking up at her mate Eevee couldn't even start to find the words to thank him for what he did. Giving him a quick lick on the cheek she snuggled back into her mother's caring arms and fell fast asleep.

Surprised at Eevee's actions, Pikachu could only stare at her for a moment before it all started to sink in. The idea of having somebody this close to him was new and he was still trying to get used to it, but at the same time he was beginning to crave just having her next to him. Knowing that he was the one to calm down not only May but her as well only made him feel even more proud of his actions.

Finding the clock Pikachu saw that it was almost five in the morning. Usually Pikapi got up in another few hours and would find that his partner isn't next to him, but at this point Pikachu had different priorities. Finding his own spot in May's arms the Electric-type began to relax as well. Giving off a big yawn he joined his two companions in their dreamy state.

* * *

"May are you awake?"

Knocking on her door Ash could only wonder why she was still in there. It was past noon and in all the time that they traveled with each other he could never remember her sleeping in this late.

"Oh just go in there to check on her Ash," Dawn told him from the sofa as she watched one of her favorite soap operas. "Even if she was asleep then that would mean that she is under the covers and everything. Every girl needs her beauty sleep from time to time and May is no exception."

Ash groaned a bit at her response. While the reasoning made sense, for the most part at least, the fact that Pikachu also wasn't around was also bothering him. He knew that more than likely he was just in there with May as this wasn't the first time that something like this has happened, but he still couldn't shake the worried feeling. Besides with Buneary consistently making glances over at May's door it was just another reason for him to guess that's where he was. She and Eevee could always find Pikachu no matter where he was and Ash found himself relying on their skills on a few occasions.

"Alright May I'm just going to peek in for a second," he finally said. Gulping at the thought of getting hit with something after seeing her half-naked the trainer opened the door slowly.

Looking into the room his eyes went wide with what they saw. He had never seen May that messy before and could see all of the clothes scattered around the floor. But with the minimal light coming in from the closed curtains he missed a few of the other pieces that could have given a true warning as to what happened. Gazing at the bed he let out a sigh of relief as he saw May sleeping there with Eevee and Pikachu. Smiling at the scene he quietly closed the door and returned to his spot on the couch.

"So?" Dawn asked.

"She's still asleep, with Eevee and Pikachu currently likewise in her arms."

"See I told you that it was fine. But why is Pikachu in there with her?"

Shrugging Ash just looked back at the TV. "Don't know, but this isn't the first time that he's joined May in the middle of the night. He's done it a few times before while we were still traveling together and he never did tell me why." Sighing as some unknown plot-point was obviously uncovered in the soap opera Ash looked over at Dawn. "Can we please change the channel? These things are so boring; I don't know how you can even watch them."

Without taking her eyes away from the screen Dawn held up and waved the remote control a couple of times. "When you have the remote you can choose what we watch, but right now I get that privilege."

Not truly caring about who got the remote, the discussion about the other Pokémon perked Buneary's ears up instantly. The thought of Pikachu and her rival sleeping in that close of proximity didn't bode well for her. Nervously she looked back at the door wondering if anything happened last night that she missed. It was at that point that she actually truly felt her chance for Pikachu starting to slip away.

* * *

It was still another hour before May finally opened her eyes and let out a big yawn. Seeing that the two Pokémon were still asleep with her, she tried to get up without waking them. Heading for the bathroom the brunette quickly realized how bad she looked after one glance in the mirror. Last night had not been pleasant for her and it showed, her hair was a complete mess and her eyes were still quite red and puffy. At that point she was just glad that there was no reason to wear make-up last night or otherwise it would have been running as well. Starting up the shower May knew that she had a lot to think about as she began to get ready for the day.

About another half-hour later May stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and started to try and find some clothes to wear for the day.

As she was rummaging through the small piles she could hear some yawning and stretching coming from the bed. Sure enough Pikachu and Eevee were both starting to wake up as well.

"Sorry if I was too loud you two," May told them with a small smile.

"Vee!"

Jumping up onto her trainer's shoulder Eevee was overjoyed to see her finally more-or-less back to normal.

"Alright, alright I get it Eevee. Now stop that you know that tickles," May got out as her partner started to rub against her face.

Finally finding something to wear May headed back to the bathroom to change and finish up her morning routine. Brushing her hair back into the position that she had it in since the beginning of the trip May looked into the mirror with a half-heated smile knowing that she would have to tell those two first.

Walking back into the room she sat down on the bed. Seeing Eevee rubbing up against Pikachu while giving off content purrs told May a good portion of what must have happened between them last night while they were gone.

"So you two are finally together huh?" After getting an exuberant nod from her own Pokémon and a somewhat self-conscious one from the other, May felt that she had definitely accomplished one goal while here. "Well I'm happy to hear that, it's just too bad that I have some disappointing news for you two."

The way that she said it quickly caught Eevee's attention and Pikachu's as well. Her mother was still smiling at them but it wasn't her normal one. Eevee could tell that she wasn't going to like what was going to be coming next.

"After sleeping on it and thinking it over in the shower I've made my decision about Ash." Taking a deep breath May averted her eyes form the two of them and looked down at her feet. "I've decided that after I've done what I can to help them out tonight I'll be leaving for Petalburg in the morning, and after that Sinnoh."

Both Pokémon's eyes shot open at her statement, neither was ever expecting to hear that coming from May.

"I know now that I do truly love Ash with all of my heart, but I would just be getting in the way between him and Dawn. I also know that she feels the same way that I do towards him and from what I can see he too feels that way towards her. If I stay not only will I be putting myself through more torture by looking at them together but I'll be hindering their own from blossoming. I've chosen Sinnoh because out of every region I know that one is the most unlikely for him to go to after we are done here. Seeing his face again will only bring back these feelings and I don't want to have to suffer through another night like that. While I don't want to completely forget him, I do want to try and put him aside so that we both can move on with our lives. At least until I can get these feelings under control again. Besides, Mom has always said that the biggest happiness is in seeing someone you really like stay happy."

Finally looking back over at the two of them they could both see a few new tears making their way onto her face. "But there is one thing that I can't truly decide on, because it would be completely unfair for me to do so. Now that you two are together I don't want to force you apart. And knowing that you would never abandon Ash, Pikachu, I've decided to leave Eevee here with you and your trainer. I know that out of everyone I could entrust her to he would be able to do it better than anyone. I mean, heck, it's partially because of that that I found myself pulled towards him in the first place."

At first the words didn't even sink in as to what she just heard. Eevee was completely speechless; her mother was planning on leaving her. But it was for her sake that she was leaving. Not because she didn't care or thought that she was a burden but because she was worried about splitting her and Pikachu up. Eevee could see the pain in her mother's eyes as she told them her plan and could easily see not only the sincerity but the uncertainty as well. It was because she cared almost too much that she came to this decision, always putting others first and loyal almost to a fault.

The Evolution Pokémon quickly shook her head, not only to keep the tears from coming again but to show her disapproval of May's plan.

"Eve!" She called out jumping back into her mother's caring arms. She made her vow to stay with May no matter what and not even a direct order would make her brake that.

"Eevee?" May was confused as to why her Pokémon leapt back into her arms. "Don't you want to stay with Pikachu? I'm doing this just so that you can…"

"Vee!" She called out, violently shaking her head while digging deeper into May's grasp.

"But Eevee…"

She stopped as she felt her arm begin to get wet. It didn't take the coordinator long to realize that Eevee was actually crying as she refused to move. The small Pokémon was even beginning to tremble slightly as May just sat there.

At that point May realized that no matter what she said Eevee wouldn't go along with what she had said. She was determined to stay with her and even chained to Ash she would probably find a way out. Actually somewhat happy with her decision May brought Eevee into an embrace.

"Alright then, for the same reason that I came up with that idea I won't force you to do anything that you don't want to do. If you want to stay with me then I'm not going to stop you. But what about Pikachu?"

Looking over at the mouse May couldn't tell what he was thinking as he silently watched.

As of last night Pikachu knew that even he couldn't currently contend with May for Eevee's affection. And it was only to be expected, they had just formed their new bond last night while May was there from the beginning, and yet he had no problem with this. The real problem was with himself. He too made a promise and didn't want to break it. Pikapi meant the world to him but this was something completely different. He couldn't explain it but it was there, and seeing Eevee literally trembling in May's arms made his decision. Of which he even surprised himself with.

Calmly walking over to the two of them Pikachu made his way next to Eevee and curled up with her in May's arms. Peering up at him through watery eyes, the Normal-type couldn't believe what she was seeing. Through his motions, his eyes, and even his posture Eevee knew what he was thinking. She was willing to give up something that had just started but he…

"Pikachu, what… Don't tell me that you would actually want to come with us." May couldn't even consider the thought of it even happening. But after looking up at her and give a firm nod of his head, he went right back down to lying next to Eevee, who by this time had stopped shaking completely. "I can't believe it, but…no. I could never do that to Ash. I know that you mean way too much to him and vice versa, I just can't take away one of his most precious friends and come away with a clean conscience. I'm sorry Pikachu but I can't allow you to do this. No matter the cost."

Picking him up May was about to put him back on the bed when she felt several small points of pressure on her index finger. Looking down the small mouse was once again defying all of her logic. Pikachu had his teeth on her finger, not biting down but just enough to show that he didn't want to move. The look in his eyes was evident of him pleading to allow him to make the choice.

The thought of hurting May was almost as troubling as leaving his Pikapi but he had made up his mind and no one would change it. He hoped with all his might that she would put him back down because he didn't want to have to bite down, but he had set his resolve and if there was one thing that he got from his trainer in all those years together it was his stubborn sense of determination.

He breathed a deep sigh of relief when he felt May put him back down in her lap. Quickly looking over at Eevee he could tell that she was somewhat disappointed in him from his actions but relieved as well. He had chosen his path and at this point he knew that there was little chance of him changing his mind.

"Guess you are just as determined as Eevee is." Rubbing where his teeth were moments ago May couldn't even see a mark as to where they were. "Then if you too have made up your mind I can't stop you. I just hope that you know what you are doing."

Looking back at the door he could clearly see his Pikapi in his mind. Of anyone here he knew better than anyone what the outcome of everything should be. He could only hope that Ash knew as well. If Pikapi didn't face his fears soon then he could lose two precious friends. And the last thing Pikachu wanted to do was to look back remembering having to choose between his mate and his oldest friend and trainer.

* * *

Okay so I know that some of you aren't going to be happy with the way that I portrayed May and possibly Pikachu but I ask you to remember their situations that they find themselves in. More so for May. Other than that thanks for reading and I hope to see reviews from all of you.


	12. Not Another Shopping Trip

Thank you for everyone's review last chapter. I'm happy that most people took Pikachu's plan without any animosity towards me for it. I know that it is something that probably wouldn't be done in that anime but just because he made a decision doesn't mean that fate has decided as well. Enjoy chapter twelve.

* * *

"So you're finally up."

Walking out of her room with Pikachu and Eevee on her shoulders May put on her best attempt at a convincing smile. "Yep, sorry about sleeping in late."

"It's no problem; it's just rare to see you of all people actually sleeping in," Ash told her as she sat down on one of the chairs and the two Pokémon relocated to her lap. "Is your room always that messy when you're on vacation or…May have you been crying?"

Surprised at his question May quickly tried to rub what remained of last night out of her eyes. "No I just had a rough time getting to sleep last night. Why ask?"

"Well because your eyes are puffy and red. Are you sure that you're okay? You haven't been yourself during this trip, going from happy one moment and seemingly depressed the next. I'm starting to worry about you."

Feeling her cheeks start to redden at his comment May only tried to cover it up further. "Really I'm fine Ash. It's nothing but your imagination." Focusing her attention down on the two in her lap May tried to keep from making eye contact with Ash. Without ignorance clouding how she felt about him, every time she looked into his deep brown caring eyes she could feel herself start to heat up. Hoping to at least stem the affects a bit she just focused on petting Eevee and Pikachu.

Dawn of course wasn't one to miss this change. While the thought of Ash's locket being only for her didn't leave her mind the evidence of a girl in love was right before her eyes. This was a big change from only yesterday and she could only wonder what happened for May to act like that. And with Ash's concern showing for May as well she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. What also surprised her was the way that Pikachu and Eevee were curled up together in her lap. Looking down at Buneary who was sitting next to her she could see the contempt on the Pokémon's face as she too watched the scene before her

"If you say so May," Ash said as he gave another worried look. Finally taking his eyes off of her they went wide when he finally saw what the other two females were already wondering about. "Um, May? What's with those two?"

Giving a gentle smile without even looking up May could barely resist telling the complete truth. "I think that they're just tired as well. After Pikachu came into my room last night we all had a hard time falling asleep. These two must have had it harder than I did." There was truth in her statement, only slightly twisted, and May knew that those details should only be put out into the open when they were ready for it to be told.

Ash was seemingly the only one who actually accepted the reason, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there might actually be something more there than just sleepiness. Dawn and Buneary were slightly more apprehensive than Ash was about May's answer, although neither could see any true reason to disbelieve her.

Shaking her head Dawn turned off the TV. There were other things to worry about with the festival only hours away. "So now that everyone is up and ready how about we go shopping? While you were still asleep May I went out and did some looking around for the best store, and I think I've found a good one."

"And this is where I take my leave," Ash said simply as he tried to make his escape out the door to the hallway.

"Don't even think about it." Grabbing him by the shirt Dawn stopped him cold. "You're getting one too so it's not just about us."

Letting out a loud moan the trainer had little choice but go along with Dawn's order. Besides out of everything she had said that day that was the first statement that made complete sense to him. If he wanted everything to go right tonight there had to be sacrifices.

"Alright then let's go," he told them in a defeated tone.

Nodding her head May got up while moving the two Pokémon back onto her shoulders and headed out the sliding door. After grabbing Buneary, Dawn and Ash weren't far behind.

As they got outside Buneary could only stare at the two other Pokémon. They did seem tired but there was something else that she just couldn't put her paw on, something seemed a bit off.

Running past May, Dawn began to lead the way with a big smile on her face. Yet it was as they passed the other coordinator that Buneary smelled something that shouldn't be. Quickly looking back she took another deep breath in through her nose. Her mood went from annoyed to complete rage in an instant as she realized what she was smelling. It was Eevee, and yet it was not. Almost as if it was lingering on the Evolution Pokémon was Pikachu's scent; and it wasn't just a trace of it like the last time, it was quite strong and unmistakable.

Catching her look Eevee couldn't help but gloat a little at her once rival. She could tell that Buneary had just begun to figure out who the winner of their duel was. Laying her head back down she knew that there was no more competition between the two of them and for the first time she didn't feel at all threatened in the least by the other Normal-type's presence. But at the same time Eevee almost felt sorry for her, and because of this she knew that it would be ungrateful to say too much against her at this point.

Getting even further enraged at Eevee's actions her entire demeanor changed as she detected yet another odd smell. It only took her a second to figure out where it was coming from, Pikachu. Just like Eevee he not only smelled like himself but also had a strong presence of her scent as well. Confused and further annoyed at this turn of events it didn't take long for it all to finally click in her head as to the reason why they smelled so strongly of each other. As the realization hit her Buneary went limp in Dawn's arms. She was in so much shock that she didn't even know how to feel. Anger, bitterness, anxiety, jealousy; it all should have been there but it wasn't. The single idea that she lost and in that fashion of all ways couldn't have felt worse. Anything that she would do from this point on would be virtually pointless. It was Pikachu who had obviously made up his mind, and even though she thought that she was miles ahead of the competition up until that point there was nothing further from the truth.

"Buneary what's wrong?" Dawn asked the Rabbit Pokémon just as she went limp. "Buneary?"

Shaking her back to reality the Pokémon finally began to feel something after seeing her one true love taken away from her, sorrow. Curling up in her trainer's arms Buneary knew that things would be completely different from this point on, and Dawn was the one person she would be needing to count on for a while.

Confused as to her partner's sudden change in temperament Dawn could only wonder as to what happened. During that time nothing was said between the group, she didn't see any real motions from either Eevee or Pikachu, and suddenly Buneary was like this. Cuddling up into her arms, not even wanting to be let go.

"Dawn?"

Looking up from Buneary's odd actions Dawn noticed both Ash and May watching her.

"Is something wrong?" Ash asked her. "You were starting to space out and nearly hit three different people."

"I don't think so, at least not with me, but Buneary just started to act a little weird and I don't know why," she responded taking another look at the Pokémon in her arms. Deciding to talk to her later about it Dawn looked around to get her bearings back. She figured that they weren't too far away from the store that she saw earlier after checking a couple street signs. "If I remember correctly the shop was this way," she stated after a few moments. "Don't worry it isn't far."

Sure enough after leading them down another couple of blocks they came to a rather normal looking shop, but walking inside it had clothes that they only saw on exceptionally rare occasions. To most the large selection looked like colorful bath robes but in fact they were the traditional dress that the poster talked about yesterday.

"I've been told that these people have the largest selection in the whole city so if we can't find it here we probably won't be able to find it anywhere else," Dawn proudly stated to the other two that were with her. "They're called kimonos apparently; personally I think that many of them look great. Although normally what would be worn to a festival like this is a lighter type called a yukata the tourism association here wants to promote this as a slightly more formal event. That and with the winds coming off of the ocean it gets pretty cold here at night."

"How the heck did you learn all that?" Ash asked her, cocking his eyebrow a bit.

"I had a lot of time to waste this morning so I found myself talking to some of the employees here for over an hour," she shrugged. "Naturally the festival was one of the topics that we talked about."

Bringing them up to the front counter a young looking girl who was probably in her late teens and wearing one of the many kimonos featured around the store looked up from a magazine that she was reading. "Oh I remember you, you came in here earlier didn't you?"

"Yep, and these are my friends that I told you about," Dawn told her motioning to Ash and May.

"So which was the one who was fashionably inept?"

"The one without the Pokémon."

It took Ash a couple seconds to realize that he was the only one without a Pokémon and that he was the one that Dawn was talking about. "What the, hey! I am not 'fashionably inept' or whatever you want to call it. I do a good job with my clothes."

"Oh come on Ash we all know that your mom buys your wardrobe for you whenever you set out to a new region." May chimed in, not being able to resist the urge to tease Ash a bit. "If it wasn't for her I doubt that you would even remember to change your 'you know what's' everyday."

Ash instantly turned bright red at the comment. His mom hadn't mentioned that one in almost a couple years so Dawn didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about, but it didn't take long for her to understand what everything meant and started to snicker. To his regret of course, May was with him early enough to still hear those comments that his mom made. Sadly for him, and to his complete embarrassment, several other people in the store were now staring at him, including the girl behind the counter.

"May!" He cried out just wanting to curl up in a ball and get out of sight.

"Sorry Ash I couldn't help myself," she told him giggling slightly.

Trying to stifle a giggle of her own the girl behind that counter cleared her throat before talking. "I can see what you mean."

"Hey!"

"But we should be able to help him out without too much worry." Stepping out from behind the counter she grabbed his wrist and began to guide him towards one end of the store. "I'll try to find something nice for him to wear, you can count on that."

"But I don't need help!" Ash continued to insist as he was led away.

"We'll see you in a little bit," Dawn called out to him while waving a hand.

Glancing over at Pikachu he caught May's eyes and nodded, knowing what she was thinking. Jumping off of her shoulder he quickly caught up to his trainer and followed him along with the store attendant into the men's section of the store.

"So shall we get started?" Dawn asked looking over at the other coordinator.

"Sure."

The moment of fun with Ash had already ended as she remembered what that night meant to her. Walking over to the other end of the store May could see a vast difference between those and the ones that Ash was taken to. While the men's side mostly seemed to contain solid earthy colors this section was filled with bright colors of all types with as many different prints that one could think of, although most were of flowers or small Pokémon.

"Wow," May quietly said as she looked over the vast amount of clothes.

"Yeah I know, it's great isn't it?" Dawn told her with a smile.

Both of them set their Pokémon down and started to browse through the selection. Of course this put Eevee and Buneary right next to each other, of which the latter was not pleased with. But considering her revelation just moments ago there was little that she could really do about it.

Eevee knew that she was the one who won over the affection of Pikachu but even still she couldn't help but feel for the other Normal-type. If only a couple factors weren't on her side then their situation could have been completely reversed.

"Vee?" She asked looking over at Buneary. Taking only a quick glance at her Buneary quickly turned her head back and folded her arms in front of herself. "Eevee vee eve."

Her face softening slightly Buneary looked back over at Eevee. "Buneary bun bun buneary," she said, congratulating the new couple.

"Vee."

"Buneary bun buneary bun neary?" The rabbit asked her rather bluntly.

"Eev…" Her question caught Eevee off guard, not to mention it was a slightly embarrassing topic for Eevee to tell to her old rival. At the moment probably only her mother and Pikachu knew the answer to that and May only due to the fact that she knew about everything beforehand. Too bad that her pause gave Buneary the answer to her question.

Once again the Rabbit Pokémon could feel anger well up insider of herself at the thought of those two like that but it quickly subsided into sadness. Considering that they were mates now it was only natural. Besides after how she figured it out it only made sense.

An awkward silence fell over the two, but neither really felt that they had anything else to say. No matter what questions were asked the results remained, and even if it pained Buneary to think it, Pikachu's business was no longer her concern. Eevee was his mate and nothing at this point would change that.

Sighing deeply Buneary looked around trying to find her trainer. She couldn't truly hate Eevee for what happened considering that it wasn't just her that was the reason that she lost but that didn't mean that she needed to become friends with the Evolution Pokémon either. And by the looks of it she wasn't the only one who was thinking that.

* * *

"So May have you found anything interesting?" Dawn asked her friend without looking up from where she was searching.

"Well I was thinking about this one," she said holding up a light red one with a few standard yellow flower prints on it. "But I think that I'd rather continue looking. It seems kinda bland."

"At least you've found something; I haven't seen anything that I've liked so far." Dawn complained as she moved a few more aside. "Either way we better hurry up, the festival will be starting in only a few hours."

Hearing her stomach growl a bit May couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "And I just realized that I haven't eaten yet." Looking over at Dawn and seeing the happy smile that she still had on as she looked through the kimonos May felt that Dawn should be told about her plans as well, or at least the general terms of it. If not for Ash then at least for the brunette's own conscience. "Um, Dawn. There's something that I should probably tell you."

"What is it?" The other coordinator asked looking up from her search.

"Well, I got a call from my mom last night and it turns out that she wants me home as soon as possible. So I'll be taking the next ferry off the island tomorrow morning," she told her in one breath.

"Really?" Dawn was quite surprised at the brunette's sudden news.

"Yeah."

"Did she say why?"

"If you remember me saying before, my little brother Max will be starting his own journey soon and she wants me to go with him for at least the first year. So that means that I'll only be able to help you out tonight and after that you'll be completely on your own."

"I'm sorry to hear that but I'm sure that your brother needs more help than I do right now. Everything seems to be under control and going smoothly. I just have to wonder when he will be taking out the locket again."

May visibly flinched as the nightmare from last night came back to her mind. Taking a deep breath she tried to ignore it and put it behind her again.

"_That isn't my worry right now. Besides if I told Dawn the truth about how I felt about Ash it would only make things between us crumble, even if she understood that I was leaving for their sake. If I have to live a lie for one day just to make sure that I can help them find happiness then I can deal with that."_

"Right, you probably do have nothing to worry about," May said trying to hide what just happened. Of course she wasn't able to hide it as well as she had hoped and Dawn caught enough of it.

"_Ash was right, there is apparently something going on with her. She has been on an emotional rollercoaster ever since we got here. I might not be able to wait for Ash if she really does like him as well. If she's leaving tomorrow then that means that she would have to make her own move tonight, and yet she said that she would be trying to allow us to be alone for as much time as possible."_ Shaking her head a bit Dawn went back to the kimonos as to not to try and draw attention of her own. _"I just can't understand her, does she really love Ash and I'm doing nothing but playing into her hands or is she truly trying to help me? Of course for that matter this entire vacation has been one big lot of questions, most of which I still have no clue as to what is going on. All I can do is go with my gut feeling and move on from there."_

"Oh! I think I found one!"

Looking back up Dawn walked over towards where May was and she was quite impressed by the find.

"You should go try it on," Dawn insisted.

Nodding, the other coordinator took the entire hanger with her over to one of the dressing rooms. Going back to the many kimonos around her Dawn tried to find one of her own. Just after she had found a likely candidate for herself a few minutes later, Dawn's ears perked up as she heard May talking to someone.

"Are you sure this is how it's supposed to look?"

"Yes it is. Don't worry so much, you look great."

Sure enough soon after May came walking out of the dressing rooms with a store employee right next to her.

Catching Dawn's look May turned slightly red as she held her arms up as to let the loose fitting sleeves fall down a bit. "It looked good on the hanger but I know it probably looks horrible on me."

The kimono that she had chosen was actually a rather impressive one. It was a dark blue with a very light pink fabric running along the edge of her neckline and on the bottom seam as well. Near her legs there were blue flowers still on their stems allowing the blue and green to contrast nicely with each other. Along the rest of the gown there were pink cherry blossoms and sitting right beneath where her collar bone would be were a couple light blue sea shells. To finish it all off a large pink length of cloth was wrapped around her waist tied in a bow behind her.

"Wow."

"Just wait until that young man you came in here with sees this. He'll be even more impressed," the employee teased May as her blush grew even further. Bowing slightly to both her and Dawn, she walked back into the dressing area, probably for any other customers that needed the help.

"Well?" May asked tentatively looking back at the blunette.

"You look great May," she told her seriously, yet still mildly annoyed at the employee's comment. "I saw that long ribbon type of thing on each of them, so it's supposed to be like a belt or something?"

"The girl in there called it an obi, but otherwise I guess that's what it was there for."

"So are you going to buy it?"

"If you think that it looks good then I see no reason as to why not. Besides while it takes a little to get used to wearing it doesn't feel too bad." Seeing that she had one of her own in her arms May couldn't resist asking. "Is that the one you found?"

"I'm not entirely sure right now but more than likely it is." Walking over to the dressing rooms Dawn turned around before entering. "She helps to make sure that we have everything correct right?"

"Yep, don't worry."

Giving off a nervous chuckle Dawn entered into the dressing area and disappeared for several minutes. Coming back out with a bit of an unsure pace Dawn too looked a bit embarrassed with what she wore. It was simpler than May's was but no less impressive. It was a darker red up near the top with a black portion starting close to her knees and a pure white stripe separating the two. Unlike May's Dawn's also had extra cloth coming off near the waist flowing down the sides of her legs, the red and black design continued along those as well but gave the whole idea more shape to it as it angled the division inward. In the middle of the bottom there was a single large four-petaled yellow flower with matching smaller ones on the right side and along her left shoulder. Several small blue stars were added around the flowers and the color division and it was topped off with a light tan obi tied just like May's.

"You look great Dawn, Ash will love it," May told her confidently, yet even still her voice faltered slightly.

"Really?" Dawn asked looking up at the brunette.

"I swear it."

"Thanks May, I was thinking that this was a little too plain compared to yours but in the mirror I thought that it looked alright."

"It should be more than enough. But now I'd be willing to bet that Ash is already done with his shopping so why don't we buy these and heat out to get something to eat?"

"I don't see a problem with that."

Quickly changing back into their normal clothes the two girls grabbed their Pokémon and headed for the front counter. Sure enough as May had predicted Ash was sitting there waiting for them, still quite beat red. At least this time he had Pikachu to console him a bit. Sadly though seeing those two together brought along with it a small tinge of guilt for May as it brought back what would be happening tomorrow morning.

"_Everything just seems to keep reminding me of either Ash or tomorrow's departure. There's no doubt that I feel bad to taking Pikachu away from Ash, but it's not as if I'm forcing them to be apart. Both he and Eevee made their choice and I gave them every opportunity to stay here with Ash. Even if Pikachu explains the reason for leaving without revealing my feelings it will still upset Ash to no end. To that end should I leave without bringing the two of them with me? Eevee would hate me for it but at least I wouldn't be taking Ash's best friend and partner away from him."_ Sighing May gave her purchase to the lady behind the counter as well as a credit card that her parents had given her._ "I just want this entire thing to be over with, the more I think about it the more the nightmare returns, and at the same time I can feel myself wanting to crawl up into a ball again and just cry. But no, I have to be strong. Not only for Eevee but for Ash and Dawn as well. I made this choice so that they can find happiness. I just hope Ash can forgive me for what I'm going to have to do."_

_

* * *

  
_

To be completely honest I'm no expert when it comes to kimonos and overall even less about fashion. My sentiments about that and shopping mostly match the way that I've portrayed Ash in my stories about the same topic. As such I probably didn't do that great of a job describing the two kimonos that the girls bought. I have put up the inspiration for May's on my Photobucket account and to keep it from seeming that I'm pressuring you to go there tell me if you want the link and I'll send it. Dawn's inspiration would be a bit harder to show you guys because it's from an anime episode I have downloaded but if you are really interested I can give you those details as well.

Thanks for your time and I hope to see your reviews.


	13. The Festival of Truths

After deciding to keep the final chapter as a whole and not split it into two chapters that makes this one the second to last chapter. With the exception of thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter let's just start it.

* * *

After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a simple fast food restaurant the group headed back to their suite to prepare for the coming festival. Between May sleeping in and all the time spent shopping it was already only an hour before it began.

Standing in front of the body length mirror in her bedroom May began to change out of her usual traveling clothes and put on the kimono that she had just bought not long ago. Most of it was rather simple but when it came to tying her obi it was a bit of a different story.

"Come on you stupid thing just stay there," she found herself muttering trying to get it to look like it did earlier.

Eevee was actually quite entertained as she watched her mother try to put on that odd clothing. But even if it did seem a little peculiar to her, there was something about it that made May shine to her even more than she usually did. She wasn't sure if it was the blue that matched her eyes or just the way that she wore it but there was no mistaking what she saw.

"There, finally!"

Tweaking the bow slightly May was finally liking the way that it looked again. Sure the girl at the store was able to tie the obi better than she could, but for her first time the brunette thought that she did a pretty good job of it.

"So do you like it?" She asked looking down at her partner, who up until that point hadn't seen the finished look as of yet.

"Vee!" The little Pokémon nodded confidently.

"Good, cause sadly you are probably the last one that I'm going to ask that to tonight, and even though we won't be leaving until tomorrow I'm probably not going to be seeing Ash all that much tonight since I'm leaving him alone with Dawn." Giving off a large sigh May looked back at the mirror before glancing back down at her partner.

"You know what? I almost forgot something." Going back into her pack, which was still mostly empty due to the night before, she took out her Johto Ribbon Case to reveal something underneath. Smiling she grabbed the object and hid it behind her back before walking up to Eevee. "It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one to look good tonight." With a big smile she revealed the item to her partner.

To Eevee's complete surprise what May pulled out was a long dark blue hair ribbon, the same blue as her kimono.

"You're very lucky that I remembered to grab this before we left the store," she told the happy Pokémon as she began to tie it gently around her left ear. "Besides even though you already have Pikachu it doesn't mean that you can't try and impress him from time to time."

"Vee!" She nodded again after May was done.

"At least one of us was able to get good memories off of this trip. Just make sure that you remember how lucky you are. If he truly is anything like Ash then you have yourself quite a catch there. Just make sure that you don't lose him."

Eevee understood what her mother was saying but no matter how close she and Pikachu got there was only one person that she would never abandon. Although she would try her hardest to keep him close to her, a repeat of last night was the last thing that she wanted to deal with.

Jumping up onto May's shoulder she softly rubbed her cheek on May's, this time trying not to actually tickle her but just enough to enjoy being next to her mother.

Smiling and giving her a quick rub on the head May looked back into the mirror. There she stood with her new beautiful kimono and her loyal Pokémon with a matching blue ribbon. May couldn't remember the last time that she felt this dressed up, yet it still felt as though there was something missing.

A sad smile came to her face as she thought of a crazy idea to finish it all off. Walking over to one of the tables she grabbed her favorite good luck charm. Fiddling with it for a moment she was able to get the half-ribbon to stay in place almost like a hairpin. Moving back to the mirror it was surprising how well the ribbon actually went with the rest of her clothes. The pink of the ribbon portion itself was pretty close to the cherry blossom petals of the kimono while the gold metal still seemed to shine brightly just adding to everything.

Eevee couldn't help but feel a little sad as well as she watched her mother stand in front of the mirror with the ribbon now in her hair. While both of them had to admit that it looked better that way then without it, the fact of what it represented was evident in May's change of mood. Yet Eevee knew how much that meant to her and even if it brought her into this mindset she wouldn't ask her mother to remove it. Especially tonight of all days.

"It really does look better doesn't it?" May asked no one in particular. Giving off a large sigh she quickly put on another big smile before turning to the Pokémon situated on her shoulder. "So shall we go and see if the others are ready as well?"

Not able to respond as energetically as she would have liked Eevee just nodded her head before taking one last look in the mirror as May walked out of her room into the living room.

Sitting on the couch watching TV was Ash with Pikachu on his lap, although he had at least changed into his kimono before sitting down to rest. Walking over May sat down next to him to see what he was watching, and to get a look at what was chosen for him to wear as well. But before she even said anything Ash's eyes forgot about the screen as soon as she walked past him.

"Wow May," he got out as she finally sat down. "You look great."

"Vee," Eevee coughed slightly as she jumped down onto her mother's lap.

"Of course your ribbon looks cute as well Eevee," Ash replied with a slightly nervous chuckle. Looking back to May he could see that she was already turning a slight red from his compliment, although she was trying to focus more on Eevee than him.

"Thanks Ash," she said quietly. "You look nice too."

"You think that this looks nice?" He asked standing up after letting Pikachu down on the couch.

Unlike May's and Dawn's, Ash's kimono was quite a bit more bland. Dark grey loose fitting pants tied with a smaller obi acting as a sash, and the dark blue kimono itself looked more like just a shirt tucked into the pants. To top it off he had a white sleeveless overcoat that was left open in front and trailed down almost to his shins, accented only with several narrow black diamond shapes running along the bottom.

"Actually I kinda like that white thing."

"This? That lady called it a ha…ha...hao… oh never mind what she called it. It's not as if it's uncomfortable. I just wish that I could be back in my jeans and sweatshirt." Slouching back down onto the couch he crossed his arms in front of himself, just like a spoiled child. Even with everything starting to weigh down on her even more May couldn't help but giggle at the scene that he put on. "You really think that I look good in this thing?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes Ash I do," May confirmed, a smile still on her face from her laughing.

Of course May wasn't the only one who was enjoying what another one there had one that night. While Pikachu was never one to understand the meaning of clothes besides their most basic purposes, he had to admit that the ribbon did look good on Eevee. Crawling into May's lap he curled up with the Normal-type enjoying the feel of them together like that.

As he turned back towards the TV something caught Ash's eye. In May's hair was something that he immediately recognized. But before he could say anything a voice called out, interrupting his thoughts.

"May, help!"

Looking up from their place on the couch both saw Dawn peaking out of her door, her obi in one hand and the other holding the kimono closed.

"I can't seem to get this thing tied straight," she complained.

"Fine I'll come and help. Sorry guys but I need to get up," May told the two Pokémon in her lap as she picked them up and gave them to Ash.

Walking over to Dawn's room she could see that the blunette had no luck whatsoever with getting it tied.

"Don't worry; it took me quite a while to finally get it as well. Here," taking the tan sash from Dawn, May started to wrap it around her waist before tying it off in a bow much like hers. "There, you know that is so much easier than trying to put it on yourself."

"I wouldn't know," Dawn sighed. Turning back to the mirror she started to scrutinize every detail. "So do I look okay? How does Ash look? Is he excited about going?"

Surprised by the sudden barrage of Dawn's questions May held up her hand to get the blunette to stop for a second. "Yes you look fine, yes he looks great, and how the heck should I know? What are you all of a sudden getting cold feet?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. If this really is the night that Ash confesses his love for me then everything should be perfect right?"

Those words once again shot a searing pain through May's heart but she resisted through it enough to not let anything show. "Yes Dawn, everything should be perfect but that doesn't mean that you need to try and make it that way. Whatever happens happens, there's nothing that you can do about it or change what's already been done."

"I guess you're right." Looking over May she noticed the ribbon in her hair. "Hey May is that a real contest ribbon? It kinda looks like, oh yeah I remember now. That's the other half of the ribbon that Ash has." As soon as she said it the realization hit Dawn. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you have it in your hair like that?"

Recognizing the tone in Dawn's voice May gulped but gave the truth. "I felt like I needed something else and I gave my only hair ribbon to Eevee. It was the only thing that I had on me that would have worked."

Grumbling slightly Dawn took one last look in the mirror to make sure that everything was alright. Tightening her obi a bit she finally felt satisfied with how everything looked.

"_Tonight's the night. If I want to be with Ash I have to make sure that I am able to tell him before May can, and that means that I have to start forging my own path."_

"Guess we should go then if everyone is ready," the blunette said as she grabbed Buneary and started to walk out into the living room.

Following the other coordinator without a word, May walked into the room as well. Looking over at Ash she couldn't help but laugh a bit as to what she saw. Dawn seemed rather impressed by Ash's new kimono but at the same time there was something that didn't impress her, in Ash's lap as he watched the reruns of the Indigo League were Eevee and Pikachu. Not currently sleeping but more than relaxed enough to look like it as he stroked both of them along their backs. Buneary did nothing but try and avert her eyes from the scene.

"You look great Ash," Dawn said quietly, actually starting to blush a bit. Noticing that Buneary wasn't even looking at the two in his lap she decided not to ask that question again.

"Thanks Dawn, you look nice as well," he told her with a smile.

Turning off the TV he took the two Pokémon into his arms and stood up off of the couch. "Well if we're going to go then we might as well leave now, right?"

"Right."

Following Ash out the door Dawn couldn't help actually start to feel nervous. Sure the idea of Ash confessing to her had been on her mind for several days now but now that she was ready to take the step herself the pressure of everything started to finally make its way to her.

"_Okay I was able to keep calm about everything up until this point so why am I just now getting nervous?"_ She thought as the three of them walked towards the outskirts of the town where the festival was located. _"Is what May said right? Am I really getting cold feet? You just need to calm down Dawn, once May loses herself in the crowd you get Ash all to yourself and then once you're alone you can tell him how you truly feel. It's as easy as that. But I also can't stop wondering about Pikachu and Eevee. Buneary isn't reacting nearly as much as she used to after seeing them together and there can only be one thing that I can think of for that reason. Oh Buneary, I truly hope that we both can have a happy ending by tonight but by the looks of it one of us will be heartbroken as to the results. Let's just hope that I'm wrong."_

It didn't take long for the trio to make their way to the festival just as the sun was starting to get low in the sky, casting the now familiar red glow across all the stalls and people attending the festival. It truly was a sight to behold. Personal stands were set up all around the festival grounds advertizing everything from games, simple rides, and more types of food than one could count. Filling the gaps between them all were countless attendees, both locals and visitors alike. Most were wearing kimonos like the three of them were but a large amount of them were in either normal attire or partly still in their swimsuits.

"Wow there really are a lot of people here," Ash commented as he looked over the crowd, Eevee and Pikachu now on his shoulders. Looking back at the two girls he gave his trademark smile which seemed to take virtually all of the nervousness and hesitation away from both of them instantly. "So where should we start?"

"We just ate so why not try out some of the games?" May suggested.

Nodding Ash started to head down to into the crowd with May and Dawn not far behind.

"May, you remember saying that you would…" Dawn whispered to the brunette as they followed behind Ash, but just far enough to be out of earshot.

"Don't worry I remember," May interrupted her, not wanting to even hear the rest of it. "I just can't do it right away. Knowing Ash he wouldn't want us to be separated this early and you would spend much of that time looking for me. We'll play a few games or something and then I'll leave." Looking away from the coordinator, May watched Ash as he spoke to his two passengers, laughing a bit as he tried to find a good place to start. "Besides it's not as if I want to be there to watch it anyways," she added quietly.

"Hey about this one?" Ash called out to them. Walking up to it the two girls just looked at each other when they saw his choice.

"A ring toss Ash?" May asked. "Not that it's that bad of a choice but at least let's find one that has better prizes."

"How about that one?" Dawn suggested, pointing over at another stand.

Moving over to that one it appeared to be a ball toss type game. Several stuffed figurines were situated on the far side on rails and depending on how many one knocked over the bigger the prize would be.

Scanning over the prizes one instantly caught May's eye. A life sized stuffed Pokémon in the shape of an Espeon. For Dawn the same thing conspired but instead she noticed a Piplup instead.

"I want that one," they said at the same time, pointing at their respective choices.

Giving off a nervous chuckle Ash reached for his wallet from a breast pocket in his kimono. "Right, let's see if I'm good enough for two of them." Pulling out a couple dollars and placing them on the table Ash looked up at the stand's owner. "Two tries please."

Taking the money from him the man gave Ash six baseballs and with nothing more than a "good luck" went to attend to other customers.

Missing the first two shots Ash was able to correct himself enough to get the last four. Lucky for him the Piplup only required one hit while the Espeon needed all three.

Both girls gave a quiet content squeal at receiving their new plushies. Ash could only gaze in wonder at their reactions to them. "Are those things really all that important?"

"Of course!" The two said virtually unconsciously.

Sighing Ash could do nothing but try and convince them to move on to something else. Persuading them to try out the horror house Ash felt quite a bit more crowded then he thought it would be like in there. Even if all of the simple tricks weren't all that scary to him they apparently were to Dawn and May, or at least they were surprising enough for them. As soon as the first of the "ghosts" dropped down next to them both grabbed for one of Ash's arms.

"You seriously can't be scared of something like that can you?" Ash commented as soon as they grabbed onto him. "That thing is so cheap looking."

"Of course not," Dawn said quickly letting go. "It just surprised me, that's all."

"Me too," May added. "But just to make sure that we don't get lost I think I'll just keep holding your arm if you don't mind Ash."

Glad that the place was too dark for either of them to see Ash's face started to heat up a little. "That's fine May. If it makes you feel a little safer go right ahead."

As a cackling laugh rang out Dawn grabbed for Ash again. "On second thought that's not a bad idea."

Sighing at the two of them Ash couldn't figure out if they were telling the truth or if they really were scared. But considering how many different things that they all had seen over the years he could only hope that it was the former.

After they got out of the haunted house both girls let go, quite obvious blushes on their faces. Even if he didn't see either of his partner's, Ash was glad that his own had faded as they continued on through the house.

Continuing on, several other small games didn't truly prove to be all that productive. None of them really won anything but it did provide some entertainment for another hour as the sun went down completely and night began to take over. Without the sun's light, small colorful paper lanterns began to light up across the festival. It wasn't extremely bright but it was enough to keep a bit of ambiance to the individual stalls. Seeing the change May decided that it was now or never to start her plan.

"You know what I'm getting kinda hungry," she said out loud as she stopped, letting the other two start to walk out ahead of her "I saw a few interesting looking places serving food a little ways back. I'll catch up to you guys later. Come on Eevee."

Taking one last look at Pikachu the Evolution Pokémon obeyed her mother's command and jumped off of Ash's shoulder running after the coordinator as she disappeared into the crowd.

"Hey wait May! How about we all go and eat together?" Ash called out to her. But it was already too late, without her bandana on he easily lost sight of her in the sea of people.

May walked straight away from the others for a couple minutes until she figured that there was enough distance between them and herself for the time being. She finally came to a stop near the edge of the festival and a rather large forest. Feeling a slight tugging on the back of her kimono Eevee soon came into her sight on her left shoulder. Giving off a sad smile as her partner joined her May looked down at her Pokétch.

"One last thing and I'll finally start my path away from Ash," she stated, the pain evident in her voice as she pressed a few buttons on the device. Seconds later a couple icons disappeared from the screen showing that the telephone feature had been turned off. "Now they are completely alone, the perfect situation to…you know I don't even want to think about it let alone say it."

Turning to Eevee she gave the best smile she could muster to try and not only gain confidence in herself but her decision as well. "Now let's get some of that food I was talking about, shall we?"

As May walked off the Normal-type looked off in the direction of where they just came from. She wouldn't question her mother's decision, especially with the reasoning as to why, but she still didn't feel like this was the best path that they could take out of all the ones available to them. At this point though there was little she could do, and decided to just try and enjoy the rest of the night as much as possible.

* * *

"Why do you think May just ran off like that?" Ash asked as he finally stopped scanning the crowd for his friend.

"She did say that she was hungry didn't she?"

"Well yeah but still, we could have eaten together."

Dawn easily figured out the reasoning as to why May suddenly disappeared and once again began to feel the full confidence coming back as to her future with Ash.

"_She didn't say anything. We were together the whole time and she didn't say anything. And now I'm the one alone with Ash with ample amounts of time to finally tell him the truth. Either she just made the biggest mistake in her life or she really didn't feel anything for him. I can only hope that either he confesses to me or that he isn't too surprised when I tell him first."_

"Don't worry we can always call her if we need to," Dawn told him while grabbing his hand to pull him off towards more of the festival. "Now come on they're starting up a big bond fire over there."

The next few hours were just a complete joy for Dawn. The two of them didn't really accomplish much but just being able to walk alone with Ash hand in hand was enough for her. After watching the festival volunteers build up a large tower of logs it was quite a sight to see them ignite it and watch the flames quickly catch the easily burnable interior before the logs themselves caught. The fire seemed almost mesmerizing but it didn't take long before the two of them headed out to look at several other stands.

Wasting time by walking by most of the stands at the festival there were plenty of them that were there not just for games and food but several featured different aspects of the island such as kimono stalls and even a few selling little souvenirs focusing on items like sea shells or semi-precious stones gathered from the ocean and the surrounding forests.

Ash only seemed to take everything in strides while Dawn was enjoying herself. He still couldn't figure out exactly why she seemed to enjoy some of the more boring stands but with May gone there wasn't much he could do except follow Dawn around, and for some reason she insisted on holding his hand the entire time.

It wasn't until night was completely upon them and the stars shone brightly overhead along with a graceful crescent moon that they finally stopped to eat. Finding several exotic but delicious looking dishes the two of them sat down near the edge of the crowd.

Pikachu and Buneary were set down on the ground next to them with some food of their own but there was an awkward silence that was between them. Buneary couldn't even look at him without the image of Eevee coming to mind. The thoughts of how she learned that they were together were so burned into her mind that it was impossible for her to think of one without the other at that point. But like with Eevee she knew that there was no way that she could hate him for his decision. The truth was that she still felt everything that she had felt for him just a couple days ago. It was actually because of these thoughts that it only intensified the feelings as she looked at him, a unique mix of rage, sorrow, and happiness all rolled up into one.

Pikachu on the other hand knew that she did feel something for him, but now that Eevee was his mate he knew that things wouldn't be the same between him and Buneary. Looking back on everything, most of their interactions up until that point had been her flirting with him and now that had to change. Both knew that if she continued to try and act like that there would be some major retaliation from Eevee, though neither knew the true extent of it would entail. He didn't even know for sure if she knew about them being together but by the way that she was acting today he could take a good guess. Sighing at the heavy nature of the silence he just tried to put it all to the back of his head as he enjoyed his meal.

Their trainers weren't in a much better position, even if it was for a slightly different reason. Ash was worried about May as they hadn't heard from her in hours and finally after pressuring Dawn several times to call her they only got the voice mail of her Pokétch.

Dawn on the other hand was getting more and more nervous as they sat there. They had been alone for several hours and as far as she could tell things were going well. Yet as she sat next to him the coordinator couldn't help but feel increasingly nervous, and it was because of this nervousness that she couldn't even think of anything to say.

"_Calm down Dawn,"_ she told herself. _"This isn't a bad silence; you're both just nervous as to what is going through each of your minds. He is Ash after all, the same dense, caring, cute oaf that you fell in love with."_ Taking a deep breath as she finished up the last of her food Dawn finally came to a decision, it was now or never.

Catching all of the eyes of her friend and their Pokémon as she suddenly stood up, her face completely beat red.

"Dawn is there something wrong?" Ash asked after a couple seconds as she just stood there.

Taking another deep breath the blunette turned to face him. "Ash before you say anything I want to get this out completely. We've known each other for only about a couple years but I feel like I've known you for my whole life. You were the one to coach me on how to care for and battle my Pokémon and there is little doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. I have many Pokémon that care deeply for me and with their help I was able to obtain a place in the top 16 of my very first Grand Festival. During our time traveling together I began to see you in a different light. You were more than just a friend to me, much more; and about a few months ago I finally realized why this was but only now have gotten enough courage to finally tell you. Ash Ketchum, I…I…" Taking an audible gulp as she saw Ash's eyes stare right into hers she finally got the last three words out. "I love you."

* * *

Okay so while the festival itself could have gone better I at least left you guys with a nice simple cliffhanger. The last chapter will be up in a couple days as usual and I hope that you all enjoyed this one.


	14. Zettai Daijoubu da yo

The human body is just incredible. Excluding revisions and author's notes my fingers hit just over 320 thousand keys in this fic alone. I'd love to see the count on some of the far longer fics. But you guys don't care much about that do you? Well of course as promised here is the final chapter. It's quite a bit longer than my usual chapter length, in fact it's officially my longest, but I just couldn't figure out a satisfactory place to split it. So in the end my loss is your gain. One last thing that I should mention is that time isn't completely linear in this chapter; each of the page breaks overlaps some of the one that came before it. Of course a big thanks to all who took the time to review the last chapter.

* * *

After leaving Dawn and Ash alone to enjoy the rest of the festival, May had set out on a rather similar fashion of watching the different stalls that were available to everyone. Normally many of them would have caught her interest for quite some time but the thoughts of Ash never left her mind. The only thing that she was truly thankful for at that point in time was that she still had Eevee with her.

With night having completely fallen by this point she had retired into the forest a little ways just to clear her head. Not too far off of the path she found a small crystal clear pond with a clearing around it. Near the center of it was situated a small wooden shrine set on a large rock, probably the reason that the festival was located around this area in the first place.

Sitting down on the grass May couldn't help but lie back and watch as the sky continued to fill up with stars. Eevee, as per her usual, was right next to her mother, curled up on her stomach resting her eyes as May's breathing slowly raised her up and down. That, in combination with her soothing voice, would normally have made the little Pokémon fall asleep right then and there but there was still plenty to do that night considering the preparations needed for tomorrow morning.

"I can't help but wonder if one of them has popped the question yet Eevee," May said as she looked to the sky. "Even if it hurts to think about it the fact still remains that I am truly jealous of Dawn at this point. Ash is a great guy and any girl would have been lucky to call him their own. In my years traveling I've never met another person like him, he's definitely one-of-a-kind. Although he may not act like it all the time he is one of the smartest people that I know and it truly comes to shine when he's around Pokémon, not just battling them but almost every aspect of it he has become a true master of." Giving off a large sigh as she continued to reminisce about the boy who had captured her heart May couldn't help but have him continuously come to mind.

Unconsciously nodding her head Eevee couldn't help but agree with her. She may not have that good of an eye for humans but even as a Pokémon she knew that there was something different about him. Possibly due to his relationship with Pikachu.

"But then again why would he choose me of all people? Sure I'm a good coordinator and everything but I'm clumsy at times, soft-spoken, and not truly all that brave. He's been the one to save me on several accounts and I probably come off as nothing but a burden to him. The whole time that we were together all I can remember is him helping me. Everything from contests, to how to treat my Pokémon, consoling me after a loss, and even having to risk his own life to save mine after I did something stupid. I mean that must be at least part of the reason why we parted ways after Kanto. Sure I wanted to prove that I could do everything on my own as well but part of me didn't care if I proved anything, as long as I could stay by his side."

Looking back towards the sky the large crescent moon caught her eye.

"It actually reminds me of a story that my dad used to tell me when I was little. A long time ago a small boy told a girl he liked that one day he would give her the best and biggest gift he could find. After days of thinking about what to actually give her he looked up into the sky and seeing the moon declared that that would be his present. So he found the tallest tree on top of the tallest hill in his village. Climbing to the very top the great disk seemed so close that one could just reach out touch it." As she told the story May unconsciously raised one of her arms and covered the moon with an open hand before closing it into a fist, as if trying to grab it herself. "Reaching out he tried his hardest to grab what appeared to be right next to him, but no matter how far he stretched his arms he never could quite grasp it. Finally his footing gave way and the small boy tumbled to the bottom, getting hurt quite bad in the process."

During the whole story Eevee couldn't help but watch May as she lay there, hand still outstretched and a few tears making their way to her eyes.

"The little boy tried to obtain the impossible and only got hurt from it. I can't help but fell as though I'm in a similar situation with Ash. The best gift that I could imagine right now would be for him to return my feelings, but he loves Dawn and the more that I try to get close to him the further that I will fall in the end. That's the reason why I need to get away from it all."

"But even though I should be happy for Ash I'm not sure if I can do that. Mom said that the biggest happiness is in seeing someone you really like stay happy. I keep telling myself this but even then the tears still come. I should be happy for him, and yet as they fall I feel as though I'm betraying my own feelings for him."

Wiping the tears from her eyes May picked up Eevee and set her on her usual perch before standing up and dusting herself off.

"But enough with the sad thoughts. How about we go grab some cotton candy before we leave? We can even bring it back here to eat, I don't know what it is about this place but for some reason it just feels peaceful and calming."

"Vee." Nodding her head slightly Eevee couldn't help but feel down as well, no matter how much she loved cotton candy.

Walking back towards the edge of the forest it didn't take long for the two of them to get back to the festival and try and find a cotton candy stall.

* * *

"I love you."

After she said those three words Dawn couldn't even work up the courage to look Ash in the eye. The silence that surrounded them before once again filled the air after she said those fateful words. What was even worse was that it seemed to dig into her like daggers, the seconds seemingly feeling like hours.

"Dawn, I…I don't know what to say," Ash told her with a slight stutter.

The coordinator inhaled sharply as he said those words breaking the silence. Small beads of sweat began to appear on her brow as he opened his mouth again.

"Except that I'm sorry."

Her eyes shot open as those last two words escaped his lips, but it only lasted for a second before their true meaning came to her.

"You're sorry?" She asked, her entire body shaking slightly.

"Yes Dawn, I am. I should have realized your feelings earlier but the idea just started to come to me a couple days ago. Don't get me wrong or anything I love you very much, but it's not the love that you are hoping for."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked with only a slight tinge of hope in it.

"You are like the younger sister that I never had. I had so much fun with you during our travels it got to the point where I truly did feel as though we were family. But I can tell that this isn't what you would be wanting me to say."

Ash felt like the worst person in the world at that point. He too couldn't even look at her and tried to avert his gaze from the coordinator, unable to even think about how she would take something this devastating. Somewhere in his mind was the thought that Dawn was harboring these types of feelings for him but he just couldn't bring himself to truly think about it. And even worse, if he would have outright asked her if it was like that it would either come out completely wrong and she would just think of him as some weirdo or she would think that he felt the same way that she did.

Trying to hold back the tears as much as she could, Dawn could barely believe her ears. She was so sure that he felt the same way about her, so sure that it hurt at times just knowing that they both loved each other and yet neither had the courage to ask. And yet in only a second it was all crushed, bashed, and torn into tiny pieces by only two words.

"So then me holding your hand, the festival, the ferry, it was all…"

"You seemed so insistent on doing those things I didn't have the heart to tell you that you couldn't. As I said I love you as a little sister and because of that I wanted you to be happy. It's just that this one thing is something that I can't give you."

"It's May isn't it?" She quietly asked turning away from him.

Shocked at her sudden question Ash could feel his face heat up instantly. "What? No, of course not! What would make you think of that? There's nothing…"

"Please don't lie to me Ash. I saw you buy that locket and I know that it wasn't for your mother. If it wasn't for me then there is only one other that is with us."

"You saw me?" The red in his face quickly turned to a pale white. "No Dawn it…" He stopped as he heard her start to sniffle. "Yes," he stated quietly.

Not clearly hearing him but still wanting to hear it directly from him she had to confirm it, even if she knew she would hate the answer. "What was that again?"

"Yes," he repeated, this time louder. "But I beg of you, please don't tell her. I thought that she would possibly feel the same way but as of the last few days I can't help but second guess that. For no reason whatsoever running off away from us, going into full mood swings, and I know that there is something bothering her and yet she won't even tell me. I've started to think that she doesn't care for me the same way that I do, and even if she does I don't think that I could actually tell her."

Nearly laughing at the irony of the situation Dawn knelt down to pick up Buneary. "I wish you the best of luck Ash. I'm not sure what's going to happen right now but I'm heading back to the hotel. I just suggest that you find May."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind, I'm going back. Goodnight."

Without even waiting for a response Dawn hurried off into the crowd, eager to get away from his sight. It took everything she had to hold the tears back as she moved through the sea of people trying to make her way back to the relative safety of the hotel.

"Dawn?"

Realizing that the voice wasn't Ash's, the blunette looked up to see May standing there with Eevee on her shoulder and a sick of cotton candy in one hand.

"Where's Ash?"

"Oh he's back there; I just had to run back to the hotel for something," she told the other coordinator as tears finally began to well up in her eyes. She couldn't look at May's face at this point, knowing full well that all the resistance that she was using would break down right then and there if she did.

"Okay," May's voice started to fall as she too looked down at the ground. "So did you tell him?"

"Yeah."

"Oh," raising her head again with the best smile she could muster May couldn't help but let a few tears fall from her own eyes. "Then congra…"

"Congratulations," Dawn interrupted her as she brushed past her friend to make her way back to the suite, leaving a completely confused May in her wake.

It didn't take long for her to get back to the room and she jumped down onto her bed.

As the tears finally came she couldn't help but laugh. "I was right; he did like her more than me. My own thoughts blinded me. My mom used to warn me all the time 'sometimes what you know isn't as limiting as what you think'. I never understood it until now. Every sign was there that she still liked him, as well as the signs for the other way around, but the fact that May wanted to help me find love and not impede it made me overlook them just enough."

Feeling a tugging on her sleeve Dawn looked up to see Buneary standing on the bed with tears flowing out of her eyes as well.

"I guess I never truly asked you even if it might not be the best time, were you able to win over Pikachu?"

Not even answering the Normal-type just walked into her trainer's arms, wanting nothing but to feel the security that her embrace held.

"Buneary…" Smiling slightly as the tears began to come even more Dawn just comforted her partner. "I'm sorry. Looks like in the end neither of us were able to achieve our goals this time. We were both bested out of their hearts, but it's not all that surprising that if one of us lost the other did as well."

Feeling her Pokémon weeping even more than she was at that point Dawn tried her best to try and stop crying, no matter how hard it felt to keep herself from losing herself in them.

"_It doesn't matter how bad I feel right now I need to stay strong, if only for her sake."_ Turning back to her Pokétch Dawn started to scroll through the numbers stored in memory until she found the "O"s. _"Let's just hope that he's still awake. I'm really going to need someone to talk to for support after tonight and he's the only other one I could count on."_

As she finished hitting the number and the dial tones began to punch in only one thought ran through her head. _"May if you break his heart I swear that I will never forgive you. He may not feel the same way about me as I do him but that doesn't mean that I'll ever forget about him."_

_

* * *

  
_

"Dawn!"

Watching as she disappeared into the crowd Ash couldn't help but feel absolutely horrible at that moment. She was still very important to him but she wasn't his "special person" as Brock once put it.

"I want to run after her and try to comfort her but I get the feeling that the last thing that she wants to see right now is me of all people," he muttered to Pikachu as he sat back down on the bench again.

"I just can't believe that she followed me to the jewelry store and saw me buy that. What if May found out about it?" Groaning at the thought Ash just let his head fall down into his arms.

"Pika pika Pikapi?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry that I've been keeping you out of the loop so much Pikachu but I haven't even been all that sure about it myself. I know that out of everyone you were the only one who knew that I had someone on my mind but I never actually told you who it was. For a while I was thinking that if I never told anyone about it that it would just kinda fade away. Of course it seemed like that was the last thing that happened in the end. The more I tried to ignore it the more that it just came back stronger, of course her showing up in Pallet didn't help that either. It was during our battle a few days ago that everything started to fall into place. Seeing May standing there confidently after beating me I knew that her journey to become better without anyone's help was a success. Hearing her voice, her laugh, and seeing her smile only made everything come back tenfold."

"Pikachu pika pika chu?"

"Yeah the locket was meant for her. I bought it to try and set my resolve about telling her tonight." Reaching into his breast pocket he pulled out an elongated light blue felt jewelry case, sighing as he looked at it. "I paid a fortune for it and even if it was worth every penny it still doesn't even come close to comparing with her. I even had it air-lifted in from another one of their stores because they didn't have the perfect one. But I know that this is one that would be ideal for her, even she didn't feel the same way as I do."

Putting the case back Ash just gazed upwards towards the stars. "As I told Dawn, my confidence has begun to falter. I thought that she came back here so that we could travel together again, and just so that we could relive that moment I practiced what I wanted to say to her countless times. Over and over again I said it in my head until I found myself saying them even when I wasn't thinking about it. But while she did seem happy to see me at first her entire mood began to change as the trip went on. Now I almost get the feeling that she's avoiding me for some reason."

At suddenly hearing Ash's confession to him Pikachu perked up immediately. Even if his Pikapi never officially told him who his crush was, he had a hunch that it really was May and not Dawn. As the gears in his head began to turn there were a few things that he still needed to get straight before taking action.

"Pikachu pi pika chu Pikapi?"

"Of course I really care about her Pikachu, just seeing her smile is enough to keep me going for days on end. Out of almost everyone I have met during my travels she would be the one that I would be least willing to forget."

"Pika pikachu?"

"If only it were that easy Pikachu. If I all of a sudden bring this up to her no matter what it'll change our friendship forever, for better or worse. I'm not sure if I can handle that right now. The last thing that I would ever want is for her to become uncomfortable around me. And now that I think about it I don't think that I'm ready to take that risk. We still have a few nights left of this vacation; hopefully I can build up my confidence again and ask her before we leave."

Instantly looking up at Ash, Pikachu started to get very worried. He finally figured out that it really was May that Pikapi was attracted to and all of a sudden his trainer was backing down from telling her, the night before she was leaving. He had made the painful decision of choosing between Pikapi and Eevee, but if he didn't have to carry through with it then he would take any risk to make it so.

"Pikachu Pikapi!"

Jumping off of the bench Pikachu went into a full out run straight into the festival.

"What the, hey Pikachu! Where are you going?" Ash called out as he ran after his starter.

Running just fast enough so that he knew Pikapi could keep up Pikachu darted between the various visitors around him. For the first time he was the one out searching for the one of the two that would always be searching for him, and he knew just the way to accomplish this. Even while they were gone he was almost always able to catch a faint whiff of that smell, _her_ smell. It may not have been her usual smell but for at least a little while longer he would be able to find her from even a mile away. And he knew for a fact that wherever she was, May was. All he had to do was follow his nose, and even through all the foods and different people and Pokémon he was able to find it. Turning left or right he just continued to head in the direction that it continued to grow stronger, all the while hearing Pikapi calling from just behind him.

Eventually it led him to the edge of the festival and into a large forest, but he knew that there was still some distance before he found them. Without slowing down he dove into the brush, continuing to follow the trail until it led him to a clearing. Stopping suddenly he looked behind him to see Ash just barely making his way through the trees, not quite out of breath but definitely breathing heavily.

"What the heck was that for Pikachu?"

"Pi," the little Pokémon said quietly while holding his paw to his lips. Pointing around the bush he showed his trainer the reason that they came here.

Ash's eyes shot open as he saw the reason for himself. There sitting on a small outcropping into a pond was May with Eevee on her lap. Floating all around her and across the water were tiny lights, slowly flying every which way. And if it wasn't enough what caught his eye as he looked out onto the water was the large crescent moon that he was admiring not too long ago. The reflection was nearly perfectly situated as to create a ring of light around May in the water. He couldn't help but just stare at the scene, taking in every detail. The only thing missing from the picture was a pair of angelic wings flowing out of May's back and Ash could have sworn he was in heaven.

Snapping back to his senses he jumped back behind the bush to rejoin Pikachu, letting out a sigh of relief that she didn't see him. Turning back to his partner he could see that the mouse had an instant look on his face.

"Oh no, I know what you are thinking Pikachu," he whispered. "I told you I'm not ready yet!"

"_Especially after seeing her like that,"_ he added silently.

"Besides she seems to very happy just sitting there without anyone interrupting her. Not to mention that winning her over won't be as easy as you had with Eevee."

It was Pikachu's turn to be caught off guard. He never said a word to Pikapi about Eevee so how did _he_ of all people figure it out?

"Surprised aren't you? I'm not as dense as people take me for, I just get distracted easily. I had all that time in the world while I was with Dawn to consider it, and once I had most of the pieces sorted the rest filled themselves in. You were never one to allow any other Pokémon to be that close to you, you're even picky as to the humans that you fall asleep next to, so to sleep alongside Eevee like that it didn't take much longer to put two and two together. Even if I may not know much about romance I do know that it's not the same with people as it is for Pokémon."

"Pikachu pika pika Pikapi," he finally told Ash insistently.

"Like I told you, no. I need more time. Besides why would she be leaving us this early? It just doesn't make any sense. Now let's stop bothering them and head back to the festival."

Getting up to leave Ash felt a small tug on his kimono, as he looked down he could see Pikachu holding onto it with his teeth, his eyes pleading with Ash to reconsider.

"I'm sorry Pikachu. Don't get me wrong, I do want to but I'm just not ready for it now."

His patience finally running thin Pikachu decided to fall upon his last resort as he let go of Ash. Words weren't going to get through to his thick headed friend at this point, so there was only one other option. Upon lowering his head to the ground and raising his tail in the air his trainer recognized the posture immediately.

"Take it easy Pikachu…" He said as he backed away slowly. "Easy now, there's no need to…"

It wasn't until the sparks started to fly that Ash abandoned the negotiation and began to turn and try to make his escape.

* * *

After her encounter with Dawn, May returned to the pond that she found earlier. To her surprise she found the entire area lit up by small glowing lights as they danced around the clearing and on top of the water.

"Wow," she whispered as she looked out on the view. "It's beautiful."

Even Eevee was impressed at the sight before her. They weren't Pokémon like Volbeat or Illumise but much smaller. May remembered overhearing some of the locals talking about these things, calling them fireflies. Alone they probably weren't all that impressive but en mass it was a sight to behold. And with their reflections from the still-as-glass pond it only made it look like there were even more of them.

"Definitely a good way to end our trip, huh Eevee?"

Sitting down on an outcropping that jutted out into the lake a small ways May just took in the beauty that was around her, trying to lose herself in the moment. Though it wasn't long before reality reeled her back in.

"Guess it's about time to figure out how to tell Ash that I'm leaving," she said sadly, stroking Eevee's soft fur. "I might as well keep with the lie that I told Dawn today, at least that way it shouldn't look like I made it up. But I don't think that I would be able to face him and Dawn tonight after what they have already done, it's hard enough just thinking about it. It may not the best way of going about it but I think I'll just wake up early and leave a note for him in the suite. I just hope that Pikachu explained things well enough to Ash about him leaving with us."

Eevee's ears perked up as she thought that she heard something coming from the bushes off to their left. Watching them closely she couldn't detect anything so she just went back to enjoying her mother's gentle touch.

"I already feel bad enough for taking him with us and leaving Ash, but I just could never bring it up to him in person." A sad smile started across May's face as she thought about the boy. "Well we better head back, it would be best to make it there before Ash and Dawn do to keep the questions to a minimum. Besides we have an early morning tomorrow."

As she began to prepare to get up an extremely bright flash of light sprung out from their left and a scream of pain wasn't far behind.

"Pikachu what the heck was that for!" She could hear followed by a few hard coughs.

Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness again there flat on his back with several small electrical burns, was Ash.

Rushing up to him May quickly helped him up into a sitting position.

"Ash are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that Pikachu was acting very weird just a moment ago."

Peering back at the bushes the Electric Mouse was standing there still in his battle posture, excess electricity flaring from his cheeks and a fierce glare aimed right at his trainer. It wasn't long before he started to charge up again, charring several patches of grass around him as the powerful lightning arced off of his body. The whole time his eyes never left Ash.

For the first time in his life Ash was actually scared of his own Pokémon, and of all of them Pikachu nonetheless. Sure he had been hit countless times over their years together but the shock that he just received was full force, several of his muscles were still spasming uncontrollably from the massive voltage he just received. It was at that point that Ash knew Pikachu meant business, and for whatever reason he wasn't going to let his trainer off the hook until he got what he wanted. Of course it didn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted after their discussion just moments ago.

"Oh." Attributing the reason to him telling Ash what was going to be happening the next morning May helped her friend to his feet before turning around. "Well I'm heading back to the hotel, I'm feeling a bit sleepy so you should back and find Dawn before…"

May stopped as she felt a hand grab onto her wrist.

"May," Ash stuttered slightly. "There's something that I feel I should tell you."

Her mind nearly going numb with expecting the worst May tried to pull away from Ash's grasp without forcing her way out of it. But even with the jerk of her hand his grip held firm.

"I'm really tired Ash, I just want to head back," she pleaded, desperate to not hear what he had to say.

"Please just hear me out, okay?"

Looking back to the sincerity in his eyes she knew that there was no way she could say no. "Alright Ash, I'll listen." The words came out more harshly then she expected and the trainer flinched slightly as if they were a complete smack to the face. But undeterred he continued.

"I just wanted to give you these." Using his other hand he reached into his kimono's pocket and pulled out two items; one a light blue velvet case, and the other was seated right on top of it. A single, long stemmed, white rose.

May was completely speechless. Expecting the absolute worst, having him present her with two gifts like that was the last thing on her mind. Looking straight at her, Ash didn't hesitate at all as her presented her with the two, a smile still evident on his face.

"The case I was planning on giving you anyways but the rose…well let's just say that you haven't been yourself these past few days. I've tried several times to cheer you up but none of them have seemed to work, and when you came out of your room after crying this morning I knew that I had to find another way. I couldn't help but remember how much you loved getting these during our travels together and thought that if nothing else this could work, even if I had to resort to using his methods to do it. So today while you and Dawn were still shopping for kimonos I went looking around town for this. Originally I was going to get a red rose just like what you used to get, but after the lady at the shop told me the meaning behind each color and I thought that white was far more appropriate. The white rose is the symbol of purity and innocence, which is exactly what I think of when I see you as you are now. It also is the mark of a new beginning, which is the main reason that I wanted to get it. I wanted you to put whatever was making you feel down behind you and start anew. I wanted to see you like I remembered, the cheerful friend that could brighten anyone's day."

"Ash…" May couldn't believe her ears. All this time he did notice her turmoil over her feelings for him and was trying to cheer her up. As she looked back on it all, it seemed almost too obvious; all the compliments, not complaining through the shopping, the time at the beach, the battle. He even went out of his comfort zone and bought her a rose. That alone was enough to make all of the barriers she was trying to put up between them come collapsing down, or at least all but one. "No I can't…"

"Before you say anything else," he interrupted her. "I want you to look at my other gift."

Thinking the rose alone was more than enough May opened up the light blue case and nearly fainted at the contents. Inside was a pure gold locket and chain surrounded by a combination of small sapphires and diamonds in the shape of snowflakes. In the center was a single contest ribbon of red and green made from a single small ruby and emerald.

"Turn it around," he insisted.

Not even able to think as she did so, the final wall was broken as she looked on the back. Engraved in beautiful detail was an Eevee, happily looking up at the viewer.

"I don't care how you feel after I tell you this but no matter what you have to promise me not to lose that locket; no matter what I want you to keep it for as long as possible." After a half-nod from her Ash continued, his face grew all the more red as he continued. "May, when we traveled together it was some of the best times that I've had in my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I got you this locket to help represent those times and my hope that you will never forget them as well. But there is another reason that I purchased this, more for myself than anything, but it was to help me build up the courage to finally tell you. May Maple, in my time away from you I found myself missing you being there with me every morning and every night; but not just yourself, your smile, your laugh, your personality, your smell." The blush he was already sporting grew even fuller at those two words. "To put it simply May I missed having you next to me," taking a big gulp he finally bit the bullet and said it. "I love you, and I don't want to lose you again."

"_This is the locket. This is _my_ locket,"_ she told herself, only catching small portions of his speech. _"And it's for me, not Dawn. He meant it for me, not her. Which means…"_

"Oh Ash!"

Tackling him to the ground May just buried her head into his chest as the tears came full force for the first time since last night. But these weren't the same tears that she cried before, this time it was only for joy. Happy that after all this time it was her that he loved and all the pain she put herself through was over something that she already held.

"Ash I'm so sorry…" She whimpered into his kimono. "I thought that you liked…and so I helped…then I realized…Eevee and Pikachu…last night…I couldn't help it."

Surprised at her actions Ash still couldn't help but feel for her as she lay there, seemingly helpless right on top of him. Putting his arms around her he tried to stop her crying at least.

"Shh, shh. Calm down," he told her in a calm and soothing voice. "Just take a deep breath and then let it out."

Just hearing him say those words made the tears come even more, but she couldn't help it. Having the secure feeling of his arms around her only partially helped things, but it was enough to at least enough to allow her to make sentences that he could understand.

"Ash I'm so sorry, it wasn't until last night that…I thought that you didn't like me like that. It killed me inside to see you say that to someone else. Without anybody there I cried the whole night, the nightmare turning around and around in my head. I've never felt something that horrible before, I was actually wishing that I would have never met you. I was even ready to leave without you…and not to mention Pikachu…"

"Shh, that's enough," he whispered to her as he brushed his hand through her hair, smiling at the ribbon so thoughtfully tied there. "You don't have to talk about all that right now if you don't want to."

Ash may not have understood everything that she had said but he caught enough to realize why she was like that.

"Don't worry May; I'm sure that everything will definitely be alright. Just give it time."

There was something about those words and the way that he said it that made May begin to calm down. Looking back up at him she could see that even through all of it that he was still there, his trademark smile never leaving his face.

Even with tears still clouding her eyes May searched for the locket that she had dropped when she grabbed onto him. Finding it not far away, she slowly took it out of the case and put it on.

Ash could only gaze in wonder as he saw her with it on for the first time. As he originally thought, it matched everything almost too well. With her kimono, the locket around her neck, and their ribbon in her hair he could honestly say that he had never seen her look better in his life.

Staring at the locket that was without any doubt hers, May could only feel complete and utter joy as she turned it around in her hand admiring every aspect that it held. Both inside and out.

Finally wiping the last few tears out of her eyes she turned them back to the one who gave it to her.

"You're probably wanting to know my answer to your question," she stated simply. "And my answer is this."

Taking the last step up to him she gently took his face in her hands and brought him in for what was her first kiss. Back when they were still traveling together she had dreams of this moment, but they all paled in comparison to what was going on around her. Here she was in the most beautiful place she could imagine; with the man that after a full night of turmoil had found out she loved without any comparison, sharing her very first kiss.

For Ash the moment was a little different. Sure he had thought of the possibility of this happening but in all of his planning he had not prepared himself for this, and yet it was everything he had hoped for. Her lips felt so soft against his and the sensation he was feeling was incomparable.

As their trainers shared their own feelings with each other Eevee calmly walked up to Pikachu, who by this point had relaxed his posture long ago, and rubbed her way along the entire length of his body. Paying special attention as their cheeks rubbed against the other she let out a content purr as a light wave of electricity flowed through her body. Stopping as her tail flicked past his nose she could tell that he was enjoying it all.

Looking back at her mother she knew that there was going to be something growing between the two of them and she was happy beyond all belief that May's wish came true. But there was also something that she could tell, that wasn't the only thing that was growing. Somehow, someway, she knew that there was something growing within her as well, and while the reason could be traced back to him she knew that it was more than just her relationship with Pikachu. But that was still a ways down the road, and by that time everyone would be ready for it. All five of them together, like a big happy family.

As Ash began to regain his senses and his brain caught up with what was going on May was already pulling away, leaving him feeling somewhat cold.

"My answer is greater than words can describe. For the longest time I have felt this way about you Ash, but until recently put it off as nothing more than a childish crush. It wasn't until I felt the greatest pain of loss that I was able to understand. Ash Ketchum, I love you as well. I know this now more than ever." Lying back down into his chest May just made herself comfortable. She had felt it before while she was crying but there was something about it that just made her feel…

Wrapping his arms around her again Ash could see that her tears had completely stopped.

"_The reason she was on just a mood swing was because of me. So then does that mean that I was the one to cause her all of that pain?"_ Shaking his head Ash knew he had to stop thinking like that. _"No, either way that grief she felt before won't come back. I hesitated and nearly destroyed the one person I cared so much for. That is one thing that I will never do again."_

Noticing her smile as she snuggled into his chest further Ash couldn't help but smile as well. "So, how are you feeling now?"

"Safe," she told him without looking up. "When I'm with you I feel so safe. Like I'm home."

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed reading my story. The white rose really was what I saw as the best color to give her for this situation. But I purposefully left out one last meaning, which is probably also its most famous one too. It gives a nice bit of future insight for them, bonus points to those who know the answer. And not just the fact that it's also known as the "bridal rose". Heck you could even consider the color of the case as a nice addition if you think of it as another rose.

I feel I should mention that many portions of this story were influenced, both intentionally and unintentionally, by one of my two top anime. While it is slightly embarrassing to say it, it's Cardcaptor Sakura. While the relationships in there are a bit more complex than this one (no true shape could define that one) many elements were incorporated here, including several quotes. In fact the title of this chapter is not influenced by Dawn/Hikari as some of you might have thought, but this anime. "Zettai Daijoubu da yo" translates as "Everything will definitely be alright" and is one of the most major quotes for Sakura.

Finally I couldn't resist adding in that last little bit for the two Pokémon. I couldn't let their hard work go to waste now could I?

I want to thank everyone for reading this; it's always nice to see people taking interest in my work. Not sure when the next piece will come out but we'll just have to see.


End file.
